It must be tough for Hamad Al Humaidhan to live up to his moniker “Young Picasso”, a handle assigned to him by a BBC Reporter back when he was just a small child selling out exhibitions, and not a name he or his family ever claimed for himself. But Hamad does embrace the title and is using it in myriad ways to establish himself across various creative channels, which is how bazaar met Hamad. We’ve seen him in a national campaign for TAMANNA #BornInKuwait, we know him as an Ambassador for New Balance and even now the Dutch fashion house Scotch&Soda wants to work with this striking, artistic influencer to represent their flamboyant label.
Describing how his journey of discovery by the art world started in the UK, Hamad explains how his father trundled the young boy’s paintings out to gallery owners to confirm that there was genuine talent to be seen in his work, and that it wasn’t just a father’s pride in his son making him think Hamad was good. So many countries have their household-name artists, such as Italy’s Renaissance artists – Leonardo Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Botticelli, to France’s Impressionists and Cubists – Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Picasso, and America’s Pop Artists like Basquiat and Warhol, and this affected Hamad’s father. “Even before I was discovered in the UK my father would say to me, “You see all of these [world famous] artists, we don’t have a Kuwaiti artist.” So, he really wanted to show that Kuwaiti people have talent,” confides Hamad. His father was asking the question to gallery owners and art critics. Was this fridge art, or phenomenal art? Is Hamad truly talented?
The resounding answer was, “yes” but the agency that was first recommended to Hamad had only just taken on a similarly young artist to whom they’d assigned the label, “the young Monet” so that wasn’t going to work. You can only have one marketing “gimmick” at a time in representative agencies it seems, certainly if you believe Tyra Banks anyway. That agency in turn suggested a second agency and they curated Hamad’s works at a pre-exhibition for critics before Hamad’s full exhibition in Wales. It was here that the BBC journalist mused that he should name Hamad, “The Young Picasso” and Hamad’s life as an artist was set on the path that he has been following now for fifteen years. He’s twenty two.
The BBC reporter wasn’t entirely wrong as there are some similarities between the two painters, beyond an immediate aesthetic which an untrained eye could see as similar. Hamad, like Picasso, started training formally at seven years old and he also has an artistic father. It’s because Hamad had access to the paints, brushes and canvases of his father that he was able to develop his talent beyond that of Crayola scraped onto newly hung wallpaper in the living room, or fingerpaints daubed on white walls in the kitchen. When asked what prevented his father becoming “the famous Kuwaiti artist” he wanted to promote, Hamad admits that his father was interested in art and was inspirational in his knowledge but wasn’t considered an artist per se, maybe art enthusiast is the term, “He is an artist though, he’s into art more than me,” Hamad says earnestly, going on to describe his father’s art room where various media was explored including acrylics and clay. Thankfully it’s all the years of voracious reading about art history and hands-on artistic experimentation that allowed Hamad’s father to recognize artistic talent – which exists in all his children, unsurprisingly. Hamad talks proudly of his sister, a painter of flowers and more into realism, and brother, who is into film and videography.
It is undoubtable that Hamad holds huge respect for his dad. So, the question naturally arises, does he feel any pressure to be this artist that his father wants him to be? Hamad tells a story where as a very young child he was actually the one who asked his father, as he was going up the stairs holding a blank piece of canvas, if he could use that canvas to paint on. He was about four years old, and he painted a picture of Christiano Ronaldo. “It was a very childish painting – I don’t know how he saw that I had talent from that age,” laughs Hamad, “He believed in me I guess.” Hamad’s dad didn’t even push Hamad into using paints on canvas, or pencils on paper. “I even used crayons on canvas;” a use of mixed media being innate. It seems less like Hamad was being molded into an artist and more being supported to explore his self-expression through artistry whether it be on canvas, through brand collaborations, or, through TikTok.
It was through being on set with Hamad for online platform TAMANNA that bazaar witnessed the interactions he has with his father discussing the canvas he was working on, and how it would look, Hamad’s dad clearly exhibiting knowledge and creative exploration as they discussed the pros and cons of various methods, imagery or strokes. They both have a lot of respect for each other. Hamad humbly admits that there were many times his father may have tried to give Hamad a shortcut to knowledge but, kids being kids, he didn’t listen, however he did eventually come to the same conclusions through his own artistic explorations. So, now, he may be a little more open to what his dad has to say, but Hamad is also a confident young man excited to develop his own projects.
Being an artist in this day and age offers so many opportunities. Social media is a great way to expand his audience, he can control his image and narrative, venture into new media; non-fungible tokens are a thing for Hamad currently. But, with a difference, because with a Young Picasso NFT you do also get a physical canvas. Or you did at the time of interview, at the time of writing NFT’s are experiencing a bit of a hit. Maybe even better for Hamad’s patrons that he went over and above what was expected to provide more value than is typical.
bazaar Studios just finished a fashion shoot with Hamad where he brought along some of his latest work as backdrops and it’s a wonder that he was able to continue to produce, let alone produce work that he’s proud of over the last two years showing distinct development and nuanced, layered, narrative storytelling. COVID has been tough on some creators, and Hamad readily confesses to having perhaps been a little “lazy” and finding it tough. The world found it tough, so he can be forgiven.
When it comes to commissions, even though Hamad paints for himself, he will collaborate with patrons, taking inspiration from their suggestions, but ultimately producing a Young Picasso piece. “I paint for myself,” says Hamad, and he’s developing an interest more in Salvador Dali than Pablo Picasso at the moment. In this fast-paced world Hamad likes to work with acrylics because on a practical level they dry quickly, enabling the artist to build texture in a way you can’t with oils, certainly not without having to wait days for the paint to dry. Try getting a Gen Z to wait for longer than a moment…they skip forward through TikToks! You can tell Hamad has his own vision and he does consider himself an art director. You can see it in his work, in the way he dresses, his love of color and kicks, the way he mixes paint, opportunity and platforms. And, we shall continue to watch Hamad Al Humaidhan’s growth which, if not exponential, could certainly be cubed.
UP CLOSE & PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE
What do you most value about your friends?
Their loyalty, support, and respect.
Which living person do you most admire?
My father.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Fulfilling a goal or a dream and resulting in pure satisfaction.
What is your greatest extravagance?
My Russian wolf fur jacket that I bought when I was only 16.
What is your most treasured possession?
My imagination and its creative process.
What is your greatest fear?
Giving up.
What is your most marked characteristic?
Artistic passion and willingness to create.
Which talent would you most like to have?
Supreme intelligence.
What is one trait you have that you are most grateful for?
My kindness.
What is the human trait you most dislike about others?
Lack of respect and honesty.
What is it that you most dislike?
Death and when people try to joke about it in an unserious matter.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Inshallah.
What are your favorite words to live by?
Art inspires lives.
Where would you most like to live?
Somewhere artistic in Italy or to live in Salvador Dali’s house.
If you could have any job, what would it be?
The boss or an owner of a billion-dollar company.
What would you consider your greatest achievement?
Selling out solo shows at a very young age.
What do you hope for the future?
To be recognized as one of the world’s greatest artists.
DM for enquiries and follow Hamad on Instagram and Tik Tok @young.picasso.hamad and visit his website youngpicasso.com.
