Unsettled Objects

Sharjah Art Foundation presents Unsettled Objects, featuring new acquisitions and rarely seen works from the Foundation's Collection; the artists and works on display explore art history’s hidden stories.

Over the last four and a half decades, Lothar Baumgarten has drawn wide acclaim and respect for his powerful body of work centred on ethnography and anthropology.

Sarah Abu Abdallah's work explores issues of obscurity and value, probing the social and cultural conditions of contemporary Saudi Arabia.

Known for his formal geometric sculptures made from simple materials, Rasheed Araeen is widely considered to be an early pioneer of minimalism.

Mining the depths of the unconscious mind, Yüksel Arslan’s work connects critical thought and spirituality, existing between mythology, science and the visual arts.

Thuraya Al-Baqsami is a visual artist, journalist and writer whose work engages with poetics and politics, feminism and the feminine.

Placing herself at the centre of her creations, painter Semiha Berksoy did not separate life and art.

As a photographer and educator, Dawoud Bey is celebrated for his rich, psychologically compelling portraits.

Huma Bhabha is known for her post-apocalyptic and poetic figurative sculptures, created by using unconventional materials.

Traversing art, design and fashion, Huguette Caland’s interdisciplinary practice encompasses both the figurative and the abstract.

Tony Chakar is an architect, artist and writer whose work incorporates literature, philosophy and theory.

A pioneer of modern art in Iran, Marcos Grigorian was an artist, teacher, gallerist, collector and curator.

Mona Hatoum’s work is an outstanding example of the interweaving of ethical, political and aesthetic issues.

Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige question the fabrication of images and representations, the construction of imaginaries and the writing of history.

Mohammed Kazem’s practice is characterised by the use of reductive elements in repeating formats.

Amal Kenawy’s work explores political, social and feminist issues, primarily in Egypt, and reflects on topics of death and regeneration.

William Kentridge is a draughtsman, filmmaker, theatre maker and philosopher whose work addresses histories of violence, erasure, memory and loss.

Astrid Klein is best known for her large-format, black-and-white ‘photoworks’, collages, paintings and neon sculptures.

One of Japan’s foremost contemporary artists, Yayoi Kusama has forged a singular practice that spans over six decades.

Through painting and animation, Tala Madani’s work raises pertinent questions and offers a critique of gender and politics that reflects on who and what is represented in art.

In an attempt to envision alternative futures, Trevor Paglen investigates the historical moments in which we are living.

Bruno Pacheco’s painting investigates form, colour and space, inviting viewers to engage in dialogue with particular moments or objects.

Through his exploration of history and current affairs, Michael Rakowitz creates public projects, installations and events.

Exploring formalism, gender identity through the autobiographical, Prem Sahib's abstract sculptures, installations and paintings are minimalist, with an affinity for simple geometry.

b. 1924, Bombay (now Mumbai)
d. 2004, New York

Hrair Sarkissian’s photographs reflect on personal memories, using subjectivity as a way to navigate stories that official histories are unable to tell. Using traditional documentary techniques in large-scale works, he engages the viewer in a profound consideration of what lies behind the surface of the images, thereby re-evaluating larger historical or social narratives.

In his paintings, prints and etchings, Anwar Jalal Shemza explored modernism from both Islamic and Western perspectives.

Saule Suleimenova uses painting, photography, performance art and installation to navigate traditional Kazakh culture.

Trained as a lawyer and concert pianist in England, Lionel Wendt took up the medium of photography formally in the 1930s.

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s oil paintings focus on fictional figures that exist outside of specific times and places.

Akram Zaatari produces work on a range of interconnected themes, subjects and practices related to excavation, political resistance, and the production and circulation of images in times of war.

Abdul Hay Mosallam Zarara used his work to decry the violent suppression of his homeland and promote international solidarity worldwide.

Abdul Hay Mosallam Zarara used his work, often produced with a sawdust-and-glue relief technique, to decry the violent suppression of his Palestinian homeland and promote international solidarity worldwide.