Houda Terjuman (b. 1970, Tangier, Morocco) is a Syrian/Swiss/Moroccan visual artist who lives and works in Barcelona. Her artistic practice encompasses paintings and floating sculptures that recall the language of Surrealism and take us on a journey through the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. A reflection of her own multicultural experience of the world, Terjuman’s work explores identity, displacement, and a search for stability. The longing for a home, symbolized by the recurring motif of the tree—often juxtaposed with homely pieces of furniture or floating uprooted trees in her sculptures—becomes part of a stressful and painful process that reflects the connectivity and heterogeneity of our de-territorialized world.
Solo exhibitions include Salon, Kristin Hjellegjerder Gallery, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA (2025); L’ARTE DELLA MIGRAZIONE E DELL’APPARTENENZA, Vetrina, Pietrasanta, Italy (2024–2025); Échos de Terre Évanescentes, African Arty, Casablanca, Morocco (2024); Glide Through Evanescent Lands, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Berlin, Germany (2023); When Hope Smells Like Petrichor, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London, UK (2022); Galerie GVCC, Casablanca, Morocco (2021); Untold Stories, Galerie Siniya, Marrakech, Morocco (2019); Because These Wings Can No Longer Fly, an artistic project with Arts Cabinet, London, UK (2019); Un Œil Ouvert sur le Monde Arabe, a collaboration with FFCreative Paris for La Nuit Blanche at L’Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France (2018); Casa Árabe, Madrid, Spain (2018); collaboration with Alex Hammersly and Hollandridge Group, London, UK (2018); Taghazout Bay, Agadir, Morocco (2016).
Group exhibitions include (Upcoming) Group Exhibition, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London, UK (2025); Luxembourg Art Fair, African Arty, Luxembourg (2024); Beneath the Stars, Where Dreams Take Flight, 1-54, The African Art Hub, London, UK (2024); Exploring Pluralities: An Artistic Journey, African Arty, Lisbon, Portugal (2024); Contemporary Dilemmas: Eternal Displacements, RoFa Projects, Maryland, USA (2023); Art Dubai, with Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (2023); Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From, Orlando Museum of Art in partnership with Fondazione Imago Mundi and the Aga Khan Museum, Orlando, USA (2022); The 369 Art Gallery, Palazzo Bembo, Venice, Italy (2022); Art Dubai, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (2022); Facing the Sun, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Schloss Görne, Germany (2021); Galerie Géraldine Zberro, Paris, France (2021); Thinking Out Loud, Pulpo Gallery, Murnau am Staffelsee, Germany (2021); Musée de la Kasbah, Tangier, Morocco (2021); RoFa Projects, Potomac, Maryland, USA (2020); Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From, Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, Canada (2020); Galleria delle Prigioni, Luciano Benetton Foundation, Treviso, Italy (2019); Hybrid Migrant, a touring exhibition with the Aga Khan Museum and Imago Mundi, Luciano Benetton’s Global Art Project, shown in Treviso, Toronto, Vancouver, Houston, Dallas, Paris, London, Lisbon, and Dubai (2019–2020); Wondrous Worlds, Galerie Michael Haas, Berlin, Germany (2019); Oeuvres et Recherches, GVCC, Casablanca, Morocco (2018); Galerie 21, Geneva, Switzerland (2018); Black Sphinx II, Primae Noctis Gallery, Lugano, Switzerland (2018); La Sfinge Nera II, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy (2018); Mercedes Roldán, Madrid, Spain (2017); Merchant of Dreams, Viborg Kunsthal, Denmark (2016); Musée Mohammed VI d’Art Contemporain, Rabat, Morocco (2015); Femmes et Religion, Bibliothèque Nationale du Royaume du Maroc (2015).
Highlights and Collections
Houda Terjuman’s work is held in various international private and public collections, including the SUSU Collection in Beijing, China, and the Bunker Artspace in Florida, USA.