-
Artworks
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup:Hassan Sharif: Political Paintings (2008-2009), Alexander Gray Associates, New York (2022)
Hassan Sharif
Raising Hands, 2009Pastel on paper17 1/2 x 11 1/2 in (44.5 x 29.2 cm)
20 3/4 x 14 1/2 x 1 1/2 in framed (52.7 x 36.8 x 3.8 cm framed)HS451Though widely known for his trailblazing conceptual sculptural compositions, Hassan Sharif was trained as a painter and first received recognition for his figurative images. In some of his late works...Though widely known for his trailblazing conceptual sculptural compositions, Hassan Sharif was trained as a painter and first received recognition for his figurative images. In some of his late works on paper, Hassan Sharif repeated the gesture of a raised hand, abstracting the movement until its meanings collapse and run together. Depicted in Sharif’s cartoonish, caricature-like style, the figures in Raising Hands (2009) raise their hands above their heads in an arc-like motion—simultaneously a wave goodbye, a sign of surrender, a plea for help, and a desire for acknowledgement. "My cynical view of life is a result of my practicing painting cartoons to criticize social and political phenomena,” Sharif explained. “My work as a caricaturist honed my sardonic perspective; at the time, I was immersed in the tumult and the ‘culture of revolution’ and the sloganeering that have, for a long time, been used as a stick to keep the Arab people in line, and that have hindered their ability to make any conclusive existential decisions about their collective fate.”
Exhibitions
2022: Hassan Sharif: Political Paintings (2008–2009), Alexander Gray Associates, New York, NY
1of 2