The contemporary art scene in the United Arab Emirates is flourishing. With Art Dubai (April 16-20, 2025) at the center of this spring’s art activities, bookended by the neighboring Sharjah Biennial (February 6–June 15, 2025) and the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial (November 15, 2024–April 30, 2025), the UAE was bustling with art dealers, curators, critics, and collectors this month.
Hassan Sharif at Galleria Franco Noero, Art Dubai
A pioneer of contemporary art in the Gulf Region, Hassan Sharif was arguably the most important artist working in the United Arab Emirates when he died in 2016. Having graduated in 1984 from London’s Byam Shaw School of Art, he was aware of the British Constructionist, Fluxus, Nouveau Realist and Conceptual Art movements, which inspired the process-oriented art made from everyday objects that dened his practice. With a solo show of mixed media sculptures on view at Gallery Isabelle in Dubai, Galleria Franco Noero’s presentation of his 2015 assemblage Cardboard was perfectly timed. Constructed from repurposed cardboard boxes, fabric, and cotton thread readily found in the local souks, Sharif transformed the repetition of materials and actions into a work of art through a thoughtful process of play.
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