MMHC ✧
Abstract Painter

Abstract works in matter and light.

Each one starts from an intention, to give a place its presence.

French artist based in Abu Dhabi, working across the UAE.

My work

Contemporary abstract artist MMHC working on a large scale abstract art piece in her Abu Dhabi studio.

Artist applying gold leaf to a contemporary abstract painting, a detail of MMHC's creative process.

Every piece starts from an intention: calm, strength, momentum. I paint freely first, then build a geometric structure on top. Sand, stone or metal leaf sometimes come last, for texture and light.

The result is a work that holds a space, not just a wall.

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Meet the artist

I trained in jewellery design at École Boulle in Paris and have worked for more than 15 years as a creative lead, today at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi.

I read a brief, a palette and a space the way a designer does. That is how I work on commissions for homes and hotels.

Know more about me

Portrait of Marina, a contemporary abstract artist in Abu Dhabi specializing in intuitive geometry art.

Something is coming.
Stay tuned..

7 November ✦ Colnago Caffè

#abudhabiart #abstractart #inkpainting

The opening was only the beginning.

Last week, we opened Heritage and Horizon at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, where I had the pleasure of introducing AD’Art and the artists behind the collective.

What stayed with me most came afterwards: the conversations, the questions, the people who stopped, looked closer, and shared what they saw.

Those moments are a reminder that art doesn’t end on the wall.
Sometimes, it starts a conversation.

Heritage and Horizon
Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi

My day job and my painting, finally in the same building.

By day I’m Creative Lead at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi. On Fridays, I paint. This month, the two meet in the same atrium.

Silsila means chain in Arabic: what links one generation to the next. Up close, sand and gold leaf catch the light. From far away, the diptych holds the whole space.

SILSILA · 2026 · Acrylic, sand and gold leaf on canvas · Diptych, 150 × 68 cm
Heritage and Horizon, with the AD’Art collective, Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi

I’m Marina, a French artist in Abu Dhabi making textured abstract art for homes and hospitality. Follow along for what’s next on the easel.

#abudhabiartist #abstractart #texturedart #contemporaryart #uaeart

SILSILA · سلسلة
An artwork changes when it meets a place.

Silsila means chain in Arabic: what links one generation to the next. For the exhibition Heritage and Horizon, that was my intention: a chain between what we inherit and where we are going.

Here it is in the atrium of Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi. Up close, sand and gold leaf catch the light. From far away, the diptych holds the whole space.

That is what every piece is built for: to give a place its presence. A lobby, a hall, a home.

SILSILA · 2026 · Acrylic, Sand, gold leaf on canvas · Diptych, 150 × 68 cm
Exhibited at Heritage and Horizon, Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi

Open for commissions for homes and hospitality. Send me a message.

#sorbonneabudhabi #uaeartist #abstractart #abudhabiart

Ten minutes on the floor before I touch a brush.

A candle, eyes closed, one question: what do I want this piece to hold? Sometimes it’s calm. Sometimes it’s something I can’t name yet. Then I stand up and I don’t plan anything. The shapes come from that intention, not from a sketch.

I call it Intuitive Geometry. Abstract painting made with sand, gold leaf and acrylic, thought for the space it will live in, not just the wall.

I’m Marina, French abstract painter in Abu Dhabi. Follow along if you like seeing how a painting starts before the paint.

#abstractart #intuitivegeometry #artistritual #abudhabiartist #mindfulart

You don’t know her yet… but you will soon 🤍

This is SILSILA (سلسلة). In Arabic, it means “chain”, the chain of knowledge passed from one person to the next.

Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi is turning 20 this year. I made this piece for that story: knowledge travelling from Sorbonne Paris to @sorbonnead , and from teachers to students, link by link.

I built her line by line: pencil, tape, deep blue, copper leaf. Every shape connects to the next one, like a chain.

I’m showing her for the first time at the @adaccueil_art Collective group exhibition celebrating the 20 years.

📍 Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi
🗓 From 28 September

Come see her in real life, and tell me below if you’re coming 👇

I’m Marina, a French artist in Abu Dhabi working with intuitive geometry.

#intuitivegeometry #abudhabiart #uaeartist #artprocess #contemporaryart geometricart artexhibition sorbonneabudhabi sorbonne abudhabi adartcollective

august diaries — colourful streets, salt in my hair, golden-hour pauses and little reminders to slow.

Août tu étais doux..

What’s underneath was a mistake.

It started so well. Then I added one layer too many. I tried to remove it with a cloth, and almost everything disappeared.

Instead of starting again, I chose the parts of the chaos I still loved. Then I built the geometry on top, painted copper over the rest, and added gold leaf at the end.

The painting I almost gave up on became the one I never thought I would love the most.

Her name is Nova.

#abstractart #artprocess #intuitivegeometry #abudhabiartist #contemporaryart

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@mmhc.studio

Get in Touch

Have a question about a piece, a commission in mind, or just want to say hello? Feel free to drop me an email — I'd love to hear from you.

MMHC ✧ Abstract Painter

My work

Meet the artist

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Let’s create something together

MMHC ✧
Abstract Painter