Hassan Sharif (1 January 1951 – 18 September 2016) was an Emirati artist and prolific writer. He lived and worked in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He is widely regarded as a central figure in contemporary and conceptual art in the region. Hassan Sharif was a founding member of the Emirates Fine Arts Society and of the Art Atelier in the Youth Theatre and Arts, Dubai. In addition to his own markedly experimental practice, he was also a mentor to many artists in the UAE and the region.
Hassan Sharif has made a vital contribution to conceptual art and experimental practice in the Middle East through 40 years of performances, installations, drawing, painting, and assemblage. His work is represented in major public collections, such as the Guggenheim New York, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Centre Pompidou, Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, and Sharjah Art Foundation.
Highlights
1987 Founder of Art Atelier in the Youth Theater and Arts, Dubai, U.A.E.
1984 Diploma in Fine Art and Design, The Byam Shaw School of Art, London, U.K.
1980 Founder and member of the Emirates Fine Art Society, U.A.E.
1997, 1999, and 2003 - Member of jury committee in Sharjah International Art Biennial.
Solo Shows:
2020 Kunst-Werke Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin (upcoming)
2020 Malmo Kunsthalle, Malmo, (upcoming)
2018 Hassan Sharif: Semi-Systems, Alexander Gray Associates, New York
2017 Experimentations, Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde, La Patinoire Royale, Brussels, Belgium
2017 Hassan Sharif: I Am The Single Work Artist, Sharjah Art Foundation
2017 Reading is Making: Books and Boxes, gb agency, Paris
2016 Hassan Sharif, Alexander Gray Associates LLC, New York, United States
2015 Images, IVDE Gallery, Dubai, U.A.E
2015 Hassan Sharif: the physical is universal, gbAgency, Paris, France
2014 Hassan Sharif, Alexander Gray Associates, New York, U.S.A
2013 Approaching Entropy, Isabelle Van Den Eydne, Dubai, U.A.E
2012 “Hassan Sharif”, Level One, Paris, France
2012 “Hassan Sharif Works 1980-2012”, Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon
2012 “Hassan Sharif”, Alexander Gray Associates, New York, U.S.A.
Group Shows:
2019 Artists and the Cultural Foundation: The Early Years, Curated by Maya Allison and Alia Zaal Lootah, Cultural Foundation, Abu Dhabi
2018 The Monochrome Revisited, Jean-Paul Najar Foundation, Dubai
2018 Cashiers e?crits, dessine?s, inimprime?s, Foundation Bordmer, Geneva
2018 The 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT9), Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane Crude, Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai
2018 Ways of Seeing, New York University Art Gallery, Abu Dhabi
2018 We Began By Measuring Distance, Musee d art moderne et contemporain (mamco), Geneva
2018 A Century in Flux: Highlights from the Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah Art Museum, Sharjah
2017 The Creative Act: Performance - Process - Presence, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, U.A.E
2017 But We Cannot See Them: Tracing a UAE Art Community 1988-2008, NYUAD, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E
2017 Is Old Gold?, DUCTAC, Dubai, U.A.E
2017 Good Printing: Group Show, Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde, Dubai, U.A.E
2017 La Triennale di Milano, Palazzo della Triennale, Milan, Italy
2017 La Biennale di Venezia - 57th International Art Exhibition, Giardini, Venice, Italy
2017 The Restless Earth, Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Milan
Publications By Hassan Sharif:
2017 Hassan Sharif, 2017, edited by Adel Khozam, published by Emirates Fine Arts Society
2003 Al Khamsa, Department of Culture and Information, Sharjah, U.A.E.
1997 Concept of Art, Department of Culture and Information, Sharjah, U.A.E.
1995 New Art, Department of Culture and Information, Sharjah, U.A.E.
1995 Sharp Tools for Making Art, Department of Culture and Information, Sharjah, U.A.E.
1970-79 Published more than thousand caricatures in local newspapers and magazines.
Since 1984 Hassan Sharif has published more than hundred articles in local newspapers and magazines.
Selected Publications About Hassan Sharif:
2011 Hassan Sharif works 1973-2011 (Catherine David ed.), Hatje Cantz 2011
2011 Cristiana de Marchi, “Lui che ha portato l’arte contemporanea nel Golfo”, Artribune.com, May 10th 2011
2010 Cristiana de Marchi, “Starting with empty spaces” in Interventions, catalogue of the inaugural exhibition, Arab Museum of Modern Art (Doha 2010), Skira 2010, pp. 78-87
2010 Cristiana de Marchi, “Hassan Sharif” in Vis Roboris, catalogue of the exhibition (Luzern 2010), Dubai 2010, pp. 24-33
2009 Jyoti Kalsi, “A practical look at the world”, Gulf News, December 4th 2009
2009 Paulina Kolczynska, “Paths to the world. Paths home”, UniversesinUniverse.org, September 2009
2009 Paulina Kolczynska, “Introduction to a Comparative Study of the Performance Practices of Jiri Kovanda, Hassan Sharif and ZbigniewLibera from the 1970s and 1980s” in Tina b, 2009The Prague Contemporary Art Festival, accompanying catalogue, pp. 78-82
2009 Ian Findlay-Brown, “A Poetry of Objects”, Sculpture News magazine, volume 15 No. 2 Spring 2009
2008 Lisa Ball-Lechgar, “Hassan Sharif. Minimal excess”, Canvas, Volume 4 issue.1. January-February 2008
2004 Gerhard Haupt& Pat Binder, “Hassan Sharif”, Nafas, July 2004
2002 Annette Lagler, “Hassan Sharif” in 5/U.A.E., catalogue of the exhibition (Ludwig Forum for International Art, Aachen 2002), pp 42-57
2002 Dr. YousifAydabi, “Die Nomadenkunst der UAE bringtihre Mythologie and en Rhein”, ibidem, pp 22-24
2000 TalalMoualla, “Errors in my works turn into Beauty”, Al Bayan, May 7th 2000 (Arabic)
2000 Khalid Al Rashid, “Hassan Sharif the Experimentalist”, Al Ittihad, April 6th 2000 (Arabic)
Collectors:
Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation
Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority
Abu Ghazalah Foundation
Aldar, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
Alexandria Biennale
Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah, U.A.E.
Centre Pompidou (Paris)
Cleveland Clinic, Abu Dhabi
Emirates Investment Bank
Fonds National d Art Contemporain, France
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi
Guggenheim New York
Guy Ullens Foundation
JP Morgan Chase Collection
Louis Vuitton S.A
M+Museum
Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar
Musee d art moderne et contemporain, Geneva
Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Yinchuan
National Collection, France
NYU Abu Dhabi, U.A.E
Other private collectors in the U.A.E. and Abroad
Salama Bint Hamdan Foundation
Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, U.A.E.
Sharjah Art Museum
Sittard Art Center, Netherlands
Tate Modern London, United Kingdom
Zayed University