Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim b. 1962

Overview

Emirati artist Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim (b.1962)  is part of the UAE’s first generation of contemporary artists from the 1990s and 2000s, an avantgarde that included Hassan Sharif, Abdullah Al Saadi, Hussein Sharif, and Mohammed Kazem. Ibrahim’s work has been inspired by a lifelong relationship with the environment of Khorfakkan, his place of birth, with the Gulf of Oman on one side and the Hajar Mountains on the other. This deep connection to his local environment repeats itself throughout his studio practice, whether through his installations, drawings or objects, and the materials he has worked with for over three decades. His hand made objects are shaped like primitive tools, bones or parts of trees and appear to have been unearthed from some ancient den, rather than handcrafted. His works on paper reveal his own form of language - inscriptions, lines and abstract forms that are reminiscent of ancient cave drawings - marking time and memory through meditative repetition. 

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Biography

 

Ibrahim came of age as an artist in the UAE in an era in which the visual arts were not yet valued culturally or taught in university degree programs. In 1986 when he met the late artist Hassan Sharif and became a founding member of the Emirates Fine Art Society, Ibrahim was pulled out of a secluded practice and carved out unshakable friendships and collaborations that have formed the foundation for the creative community that defines the UAE today.

 

Ibrahim's recent solo exhibitions include The Space between the Eyelid and the Eyeball, Lawrie Shabibi, 2019; Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, 2018, Primordial II, 2016; Turab, 2015 and Primordial, 2013 at Cuadro Art Gallery.  In March 2018 Elements, a survey of works spanning three decades of his practice was presented at the Sharjah Art Foundation, curated by Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi.

 

Ibrahim's group exhibitions include participations in Desert X Al Ula, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2020; Upsurge: Waves, Colour and Illusion, Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, 2020; But We Cannot See Them: Tracing a UAE Art Community, 1988-2008 at NYUAD Art Gallery, 2017; The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Yay Gallery, Baku, 2015; the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, 2016; the 53rd Venice Biennale, 2009 the Sharjah Biennial,1993, 2003 and 2007; and Dhaka Biennial, 2002 and 1993.  Select institutional exhibitions include the Kunstmuseum, Bonn, 2005; the Sharjah Art Museum, 2005 and 1996; the Ludwig Forum for International Art, Aachen, 2002; Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, 1998); and Sittard Art Centre, the Netherlands, 1995.

 

He received the first prize for sculpture at the Sharjah Biennial in 1999 and 2001 and has participated in artist residencies at Trans Indian Ocean Artist Exchange, Kochi Murzi Biennale, India, 2016; A.i.R Dubai (2015); Le Consortium, Dijon, 2009; and Kunstcentrum Sittard, the Netherlands 1994-1996 and 1998-2000). 

 

His works are in international collections, including Sharjah Art Foundation; Sharjah Art Museum; Art Jameel, Dubai; Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah; Mathaf, The Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; Kunstcentrum Sittard, Sittard; The British Museum, London; and The Centre George Pompidou, Paris.

 

Ibrahim works and lives in Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates.

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