Naseer Shamma Turns Oud Sawdust into Paintings in 'Quarter Tone' in Riyadh

When the instrument becomes the paint

What happens to the sawdust when an oud is made? For Naseer Shamma, it becomes paint. The Iraqi oud master has just brought Quarter Tone, a series of works made from the wood shavings left over from oud making, to Fenaa Alawwal in Riyadh, in an exhibition presented by the Saudi Ministry of Culture that opened on 7 October and runs until 7 November 2026.

Shamma is one of the best-known oud players in the Arab world, and the founder of the Arab Oud House. What fewer people know is that he is also a painter: his first solo exhibition of paintings, Half Life, opened at the Etihad Modern Art Gallery in Abu Dhabi in 2024.

The title refers to the quarter tone, the tiny interval between two notes that gives Arabic music, and the oud in particular, its distinctive colour. In Quarter Tone, the ministry explains, sawdust and wood remnants from the instrument are taken "from its traditional function into compositions evoking sound, maqam, and rhythm". Speaking to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed at the opening, Shamma explained that the sawdust is first worked into a paste before it goes onto the canvas, and that finding the right treatment took time. The result is abstract and highly textured, with speckled surfaces of grey, teal and brown.

The show is not entirely new. Quarter Tone was first shown at the Cairo Opera House in January 2025, when Shamma told Asharq Al-Awsat that the quarter tone "expresses the identity of Arabic music", and that he wanted to link musical and visual work, both of which he sees as "a kind of harmony". Its arrival in Riyadh, with a full programme around it, gives it a much bigger stage.

What's more, this is as much a musical event as an exhibition. Alongside the paintings, the ministry has programmed talks moderated by Arwa Qudaih, opening with a conversation with Shamma himself, and weekly oud nights through October and into November, ending with a performance by students of the Arab Oud House on 6 November.

The venue is fitting, too. Fenaa Alawwal opened in December 2022 as the Ministry of Culture's first cultural centre, in the former headquarters of Alawwal Bank, previously the Saudi Hollandi Bank, the Kingdom's first commercial bank, in Riyadh's Diplomatic Quarter.

Perhaps what is most significant here is how naturally the show moves between disciplines. In a region where music and visual art have always shared a language of rhythm, pattern and line, an oud player painting with the dust of his own instrument feels less like a novelty and more like a homecoming. We're eager to see what Shamma does next.

Quarter Tone is on view at Fenaa Alawwal, Diplomatic Quarter, Riyadh, until 7 November 2026, daily from 10am to 10pm and on Fridays from 5pm to 10pm, with registration through Webook.

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