Abdulnasser Gharem: Making Creative Process Part of the Work
From a Sadu-inspired commission in Riyadh to a Berlin exhibition, the Saudi artist’s 2026 projects offer a view of how ideas develop through sketches, materials and collaboration.
A finished artwork can conceal the decisions behind it. Abdulnasser Gharem has been making some of that development visible, sharing preliminary studies alongside accounts of his recent projects.
In a LinkedIn post published on 9 August 2026, the artist presented sketches and studies for Pre-Weaving, a work he described as commissioned for W Hotel Riyadh at KAFD. He explained that its starting point was the preparation of threads before a Sadu textile takes shape.
Working with an unfinished moment
Rather than reproduce a completed woven pattern, Gharem described suspended threads and spheres at their ends. His explanation focused on the possibilities of an unfinished state and the relationship between precision and spontaneity.
For readers interested in creative careers, the post makes a specific contribution visible: identifying a stage within a familiar craft and developing it into a contemporary commission. The artist’s own account provides the interpretation; it is not an independently measured claim about the work’s impact.
Developing ideas across formats
His current solo exhibition, The Image Is a Public Menace, extends that attention to process. Gharem announced it in a 13 September LinkedIn post; Galerie Nagel Draxler’s listing confirms its Berlin run from 11 September to 14 November 2026, following an opening on 10 September.
The gallery describes Aniconism as a project involving a staged photograph made in Riyadh, its translation into painting in Vienna, and video documentation of the work’s development. Another project, The Unscored Goal, uses a football covered with rubber stamps to produce ink impressions on paper.
These methods sit within a longer professional practice. The gallery’s biography identifies Gharem as a Riyadh-based Saudi artist and records his founding of Gharem Studio in 2013 as a nonprofit organisation offering artist residencies.
Together, the projects show a practice encompassing commissions, exhibitions and support for other artists, with the making of the work becoming part of what audiences encounter.
Prepared from public posts and gallery records. Telescope Editorial did not interview Gharem.
Sources and dates
- Abdulnasser Gharem, original public LinkedIn post on Pre-Weaving and its preliminary studies, published 9 August 2026. Exact date verified from the original public page’s datePublished metadata: 2026-08-09T09:15:42.144Z. This is the post date, not a claimed installation or hotel opening date.
- Abdulnasser Gharem, original public LinkedIn post on The Image Is a Public Menace, published 13 September 2026. Exact date verified from datePublished metadata: 2026-09-13T09:20:12.011Z.
- Galerie Nagel Draxler, official exhibition listing and project descriptions, undated page checked 31 October 2026. Opening: 10 September 2026; exhibition: 11 September–14 November 2026.
- Galerie Nagel Draxler, official artist biography and work record, undated, checked 31 October 2026. Used for Saudi identity, Riyadh base and the studio’s establishment in 2013.
Archive photograph and credit
Saudi artist Abdulnasser Gharem in an archive photograph dated 4 January 2009 in the source record. This is not a photograph of his 2026 commission or Berlin exhibition.
Credit: Gofran tariq, via Wikimedia Commons — CC0 1.0.
Original portrait, labelled identity, date, creator and rights record. The photographer identifies the image as their own work and expressly releases it under CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication, which allows copying and distribution, including commercial reuse, without asking permission. Credit is supplied for editorial transparency. No endorsement of Telescope Editorial by the artist is implied.
