Hassan Sharif (b. 1951, Dubai, United Arab Emirates) lives and works in Dubai. Recognized as a pioneer of conceptual art and experimental practice in the Middle East, Sharif’s artworks move beyond the limits of discipline or singular approach, encompassing performance, installation, drawing, painting, and assemblage. Since the late 1970s, he has maintained a practice as a cultural producer and facilitator, moving between roles as artist, educator, critic, activist and mentor to contemporary artists in the United Arab Emirates.

Sharif is a founder of the Emirates Fine Art Society and Art Atelier in the Youth Theater and Arts, Dubai, and in 2007 was one of four artists to establish The Flying House, a Dubai institution to promote contemporary Emirati artists. The first Emirati to have his work shown in the Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, Sharif was also selected to be the debut artist to represent the U.A.E. during its first national pavilion the Venice Biennale in 2009. In 2011, Sharif was the subject of a retrospective exhibition, Hassan Sharif: Experiments & Objects 1979-2011 curated by Catherine David and Mohammed Kazem, presented by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage/Platform for Visual Arts. Sharif’s artwork is included in the collections of the Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar; the Sharjah Art Museum, Sharjah, U.A.E.; the Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah; the Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; and the Sittard Center, The Netherlands.