Suha Shoman

Suha Shoman’s painting and video installations explore issues of identity and memory through the filter of personal and collective experiences. Inspired by the ancient Nabatean city of Petra, her paintings range from realistic to abstract to monochrome, while her videos reflect on notions of time and light, exile and loss.

Shoman’s work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions at Sharjah Art Foundation (2016); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2012); Station Museum of Houston, US (2010); Kunsthallen Nikolaj, Copenhagen (2010); 25th Alexandria Biennale for the Mediterranean Countries (2009); Institut du monde arabe, Paris (2009); Ramallah Cultural Palace (2009); Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman (2008); 2nd Singapore Biennale (2008); and Sharjah Biennial 7 (2005), among others.

She has received numerous awards, including the Prix de la Chaire from the Institut du monde arabe, Paris (2019); the Jordanian Al Hussein Decoration for Distinguished Contribution of the First Degree (2006); and the medallion of the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France (2004). Shoman served as a jury member for the Sharjah Biennial Prize (2015).

Shoman is the co-founder and chairperson of Darat Al Funun, The Khalid Shoman Foundation, which has been dedicated to supporting Arab art and artists since 1988. She holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Université Saint-Joseph, Beirut (1966), and a Diplôme d’études supérieures (DES) from the University of Paris Faculté de Droit, Pantheon (1968). She also studied at the Fahrelnissa Zeid Institute of Fine Arts, Amman.

Born in Jerusalem in 1944, Shoman currently lives and works in Amman.