In my work I aim to bridge the gap between ancient traditions and modern expression - by reimagining symbols + patterns born from Middle Eastern heritage and sunlit Mediterranean horizons within a contemporary abstract context.

bio

Nissa Raad (Fakhrelnissa bint Raad) is a Jordanian artist born in Amman in 1981. Drawn to art from an early age, she was deeply influenced by her late grandmother, the renowned Turkish artist Fahrelnissa Zeid, whose monumental paintings and bold use of colour left a lasting impression on her artistic vision. Raad earned a BA in History from Brown University in 2002 and an MSc in Urban Development and Design from UCL, London, in 2004. Her early practice was shaped by an interest in urban environments before evolving toward abstraction and a deeper engagement with cultural memory and visual language.

Drawing on the spirit of the Mediterranean alongside indigenous Bedouin and Middle Eastern mark-making traditions, Raad explores how meaning is carried through gesture, pattern and form. Splashes of colour intertwine with motifs inspired by regional heritage, and symbols rooted in desert landscapes and sunlit horizons are reimagined within a contemporary abstract language. Working with a wide range of media, Raad builds layered compositions through bold gestural lines, rich textures and vibrant colour. Her luminous palette evokes the warmth and vitality of the Mediterranean while repetition, rhythm and inscription echo the visual logic of Bedouin culture, where marks function as carriers of memory, identity and belonging.

For Raad, painting becomes a space to reconsider how meaning is created, transformed and transmitted across generations. Each work responds to inherited visual systems, translating heritage into a painterly language that remains relevant, intuitive and very alive.

Nissa has had several sold-out solo exhibitions and have participated in numerous group exhibitions both locally and internationally, as well as contemporary art fairs in Dubai, Tokyo, Istanbul, Beirut, Paris, New York, Cairo and Madrid.