Monira Al Qadiri, Hero at Berlinische Galerie through August 17, 2026
Published on 08/22/2026 at 13:31 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Monira Al Qadiri anchors her large-scale solo exhibition Hero at Berlinische Galerie in Berlin in the material and mythology of oil. As the museum outlines in its 2026 exhibition overview, the show remains on view until August 17, 2026 and frames the oil tanker as emblem of a fading yet still dominant fossil-fuel regime. Berlinische Galerie exhibition overview 2026
The exhibition Hero in Berlin
At Berlinische Galerie, Hero brings together sculpture, video and painting to trace how crude oil underpins consumer capitalism and global inequality, while leaving a toxic legacy in oceans, air and bodies. e-flux exhibition announcement The museum emphasizes the oil tanker as a recurring motif that condenses power politics, colonial dynamics and environmental damage into a single image.
The exhibition opened at Berlinische Galerie on July 11, 2025 and runs through August 17, 2026, placing it among the institution's long-duration survey formats. Artist's shows listing Within this extended timeframe, Al Qadiri has developed several new sculptural groups that rework industrial forms into iridescent, quasi-organic presences in the galleries.
Oil, sculpture and long work series
Across Hero, Al Qadiri continues a broader practice that reimagines petrochemical infrastructures as aesthetic and cultural signifiers rather than mere industrial hardware. The Berliner review She uses polished, reflective surfaces and enlarged scales to turn drill heads, tankers and pipelines into almost monumental icons.
The Berlin show parallels her public commission First Sun for Public Art Fund at Doris C. Freedman Plaza in New York, on view from September 3, 2025 to August 2, 2026. Public Art Fund exhibition listing That large-scale sculpture stages a rising petrochemical sun at Central Park's southeast entrance, extending the formal and thematic vocabulary seen in Berlin into the urban public sphere.
Exhibitions, public works and petro-visions by Monira Al Qadiri
For readers who follow institutional shows and public commissions, our archive offers further coverage of Monira Al Qadiri's work across museums and city spaces.
The work core and practice
Al Qadiri works primarily with sculpture, installation and video, often deploying high-gloss finishes and iridescent color schemes associated with both oil slicks and consumer luxury goods. Perrotin artist profile Her recurring series transform drill bits into hovering, quasi-mythological forms and petrochemical molecules into floating, pearlescent structures.
Where the artist stands now
As of late August 2026, Monira Al Qadiri's practice remains anchored in Berlin, with Hero at Berlinische Galerie and the public sculpture First Sun in New York consolidating her profile at the intersection of institutional exhibition and large-scale urban commission.
Key facts on Monira Al Qadiri
- Artist: Monira Al Qadiri
- Medium / Genre: Sculpture and installation (conceptual, petro-culture focused)
- Born: 1983, Dakar, Senegal
- Place(s) of practice: Studio in Berlin
- Active since: Mid-2000s, with early exhibitions in Kuwait and Japan
- Key work groups: Hero, First Sun, Alien Technology, Wonderland
- Current/last exhibition: Hero, Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, July 11, 2025 – August 17, 2026
- Major collections: Berlinische Galerie (Berlin), Public Art Fund (New York, commission context)
- Awards: Abraaj Group Art Prize (shortlisted 2013, award structure associated with Gulf art scene)
- Next date: currently no announced date in the 30-day window
Frequently asked questions about Monira Al Qadiri
Where can I see Monira Al Qadiri's exhibition Hero?
The exhibition Hero is on view at Berlinische Galerie in Berlin, running from July 11, 2025 to August 17, 2026, and focuses on oil tankers and petro-culture through sculpture, video and painting.
What is the public sculpture First Sun about?
First Sun, presented by Public Art Fund at Doris C. Freedman Plaza in Central Park from September 3, 2025 to August 2, 2026, is a large-scale sculpture that stages a rising petrochemical sun at one of New York's key park entrances.
How does Monira Al Qadiri connect oil with consumer culture in her work?
Al Qadiri reworks drill heads, tankers and petrochemical forms into glossy, iridescent objects that echo luxury goods, highlighting how fossil fuel infrastructures shape consumer lifestyles while generating long-term environmental and social damage.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
