About

Yazan Alali (BFA, SAIC 2024) is a Saudi-born, Chicago-based interdisciplinary artist whose work examines societal fragmentation and alienation. Working across painting, photography, and film, Alali explores themes of identity, politics, and human behavior, often using visceral techniques to confront the psychological tensions of contemporary life. His loose, spontaneous style fuses surreal, poetic imagery with raw, expressive mark-making to produce striking visuals that disrupt familiar narratives. Alali’s palette ranges from the grungy tones of street culture to the bright, jarring colors of consumerism and pop media. Informed by sociology, history, and philosophy, his practice interrogates the boundary between meaning and meaninglessness—reflecting on the absurdities and contradictions of modern existence.

CV

Education

2020-2024
2020
2016-2018

BFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, USA
Temple University, Philadelphia, USA
Concordia University, Montreal, Canada

Selected group exhibitions

2026
2024
2022

No One Held To Answer, Space 01 Gallery, Chicago, USA
Falling Tide, Fall Undergraduate Exhibition, SAIC Galleries, Chicago, USA
Punk and DIY Methods in Production Exhibition, SAIC, Chicago, USA

Publications

2026

Chicago Reader - “The art of survival”, Photo Credit

Scholarships and Awards

2020-2024
2020-2024

Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission Arts Scholarship
SAIC Honors Scholarship