Qatari-born artist, Mubarak Al Thani, is known for his striking abstract compositions; playing with form and pattern – exploring the landscape of city living. His frenetic rhythms and vivid colour palette capture the energy of a buzzing metropolis, balanced with anxiety, humour and elation.

Al Thani aims to challenge cultural expectations of what art can be, to inspire curiosity. “Abstract art is the most liberating type of art. It acts as a mask, behind which any artist can express him or herself more freely without worrying much about perception.”

Al Thani is inspired by cities, skylines, horizons, people and their interaction. He tries to capture these by balancing a contrast between blunt literalism and abstract dimensionalism/cubism. His works are often populated with a figure he calls “Curious Cubo” – a cubist human-like form which appears in various positions representing a sort of ‘everyman’ figure, open to interpretation of the viewer.

A self-taught artist Mubarak Al Thani holds a BA from Georgetown School of Foreign Service and an MA in Urban Planning from NYU. He presently lives and works in Doha, Qatar