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Lot Essay
Born in 1945 in Amman, Mona Saudi was a key figure in Jordanian art and a pioneering female sculptor in the Arab world. She moved to Lebanon at the age of seventeen to follow her artistic ambitions and later advanced her studies at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Saudi developed a distinctive style based on abstraction and minimalism, often beginning with simple geometric shapes such as squares, circles, cylinders, and rectangles, which she transformed into flowing, organic compositions through repetition, variation, and overlapping forms.
In 1965, she created her first stone work, Mother/Earth: a powerful limestone sculpture that conveys feminine energy. Themes of fertility and growth continued to inspire her throughout her career. Describing herself as a ‘stone lover,’ Saudi held a profound respect for her material, viewing it as an essential extension of the earth’s raw essence. She sourced natural stones from across the Middle East, including white marble from Carrara, black diorite from Syria, pink limestone and green marble from Jordan, each selected for its aesthetic qualities and symbolic meaning.
Shajarat al-Hayat (Tree of Life) is a compelling example of Saudi's mature practice. This sculpture is exquisitely carved from a green-brown marble—referred to by the artist as Jordanian jade—and is gracefully mounted on a white marble base. The abstract tree form expresses strength and vitality. Though solid, the shapes suggest movement, reflecting both the rootedness of the earth and the fluidity of life itself. The smooth edges soften the geometry and allow the eye to follow its natural contours. Towards the top of the sculpture, a circular divot is carved, creating an organic, womb-like cavity that evokes birth and the cycle of life. This feature captures Saudi’s enduring fascination with themes of fertility, creation and transformation. In Shajarat al-Hayat, Mona Saudi invites viewers to experience the ongoing dialogue between the natural and the abstract, the feminine and the elemental, honouring life’s sacred rhythms through the timeless language of stone.
Mona Saudi’s works are part of significant public and institutional collections around the world, including Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi; Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah; Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah; The British Museum, London; Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, and National Museum for Women in the Arts, Washington D.C.
In 1965, she created her first stone work, Mother/Earth: a powerful limestone sculpture that conveys feminine energy. Themes of fertility and growth continued to inspire her throughout her career. Describing herself as a ‘stone lover,’ Saudi held a profound respect for her material, viewing it as an essential extension of the earth’s raw essence. She sourced natural stones from across the Middle East, including white marble from Carrara, black diorite from Syria, pink limestone and green marble from Jordan, each selected for its aesthetic qualities and symbolic meaning.
Shajarat al-Hayat (Tree of Life) is a compelling example of Saudi's mature practice. This sculpture is exquisitely carved from a green-brown marble—referred to by the artist as Jordanian jade—and is gracefully mounted on a white marble base. The abstract tree form expresses strength and vitality. Though solid, the shapes suggest movement, reflecting both the rootedness of the earth and the fluidity of life itself. The smooth edges soften the geometry and allow the eye to follow its natural contours. Towards the top of the sculpture, a circular divot is carved, creating an organic, womb-like cavity that evokes birth and the cycle of life. This feature captures Saudi’s enduring fascination with themes of fertility, creation and transformation. In Shajarat al-Hayat, Mona Saudi invites viewers to experience the ongoing dialogue between the natural and the abstract, the feminine and the elemental, honouring life’s sacred rhythms through the timeless language of stone.
Mona Saudi’s works are part of significant public and institutional collections around the world, including Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi; Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah; Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah; The British Museum, London; Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, and National Museum for Women in the Arts, Washington D.C.