Hassan Sharif

Though he is often celebrated as a conceptualist, the late Emirati artist Hassan Sharif has had an expansive and evolving influence on the arts. As an artist, writer, educator and critic, Sharif worked with and through the material and socioeconomic effects of global capitalism in the United Arab Emirates to weave together his diverse body of work. Encompassing sculpture, painting, writing, performance and even political caricature, his radical vision translated into an artistic practice that was both faithful to his local environment and truly global, both subversive and sincere. "I Am the Single Work Artist" imagines an extended dialogue with Sharif about the places, people, texts and materials that shaped his world. The volume presents Sharif's work alongside context-specific annotations, archival materials, selections from his writings and the writing of his contemporaries to create a vibrant picture of his art and its impact.