Shaikha Al Mazrou b. 1988
Shaikha Al Mazrou is considered to be among the most dynamic and promising artists of her generation from the UAE. Her sculptural experimentations and investigations are expressions of materiality—articulations of tension and the interplay between form and content as well as an intuitive, keenly felt understanding of materials and their physical properties. She combines and evolves ideas from contemporary artistic movements similarly preoccupied with formal and material elements, from colour theory to geometric abstraction.
-
Red Stack, 2022
-
The Plinth, 2021
-
Space in Between, 2022
-
Measuring Physicality of Void, 2022
-
Despite The Weather (complete set of ten pieces), 2020
-
Exhale, 2018
-
Engage, 2018
-
Ephemerality and Permanence, 2021
-
Exhale , 2018
-
Exhale, 2018
-
Folded Motif, 2022
-
Green house: Interior yet Exterior, Manmade yet Natural, 2018
-
Open Window, 2021
-
Paper Sculpture , 2022
-
Rafter, 2019
-
Scales, 2017
-
To Create Meaning In Perception, 2020
-
Untitled, 2019
-
Untitled, 2019
-
Visual Space, 2021
Shaikha Al Mazrou (b. 1988, UAE) received her MFA in 2014 at the Chelsea College of Fine Art, University of the Arts, London where she was awarded the prestigious MFA Student Prize. Prior to that she studied at the College of Fine Arts and Design, University of Sharjah where she later was a sculpture lecturer. Currently she is a visiting Assistant Professor at NYU Abu Dhabi.
Al Mazrou’s practice is anchored in the history of art, borrowing formally from minimalism and intellectually from conceptual art. Influenced by artists from the Modernist and Bauhaus Movements - such as Paul Klee, Carle Andre and Wassily Kandinsky - Al Mazrou uses the formal aspects of minimalism to engage with a current fascination with materiality in art. In her practice she combines and evolves ideas from contemporary artistic movements similarly preoccupied with formal and material elements, from colour theory to geometric abstraction.
Often in her works she combines mass-produced materials - such as electronic waste or construction materials - with colour and form, experimenting with these resources to create abstract geometric arrangements. Fascinated by notions of physical space, her sculptures and installations materialise as simple gestures that emphasise the representation of tension, weight and space.
Al Mazrou’s large-scale installations and sculptures form a natural and important extension to her studio practice, and she has been the beneficiary of a number of public art commissions. She was recently a part of Union of Artists (2024), a collaborative public sculpture with Afra Al Dhaheri, Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, Asma Belhamar and Khalid Albanna, commissioned by Dubai Culture and Art Dubai under the Dubai Public Art Initiative, in Al Hudaiba park, Dubai. In October 2022, Al Mazrou’s Red Stack (2022) - the largest single work by the artist to date – was presented at Frieze Sculpture 2022 in Regents Park, London. The public art exhibition curated by Clare Lilley, ran alongside Frieze London and Frieze Masters. Her permanent public artworks include The Plinth (2021) commissioned for Expo 2020 Dubai’s Public Art Programme, curated by Tarek Abou El Fetouh and Green House: Interior yet Exterior, Manmade yet Natural (2018) commissioned by Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai.
Recent solo exhibitions include Art Basel Hong Kong with Lawrie Shabibi, Booth 3D27, Insights section, Hong Kong, China, 2024; Measuring Physicality of Void installations at the second edition of Desert X AlUla, 2022; Dwelling in the Gap, Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, 2022; Art Dubai with Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, 2021; Rearranging the Riddle, Maraya Art Centre Sharjah, Sharjah, 2020; Expansion/Extension, Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, 2019; Solo Projects, Abu Dhabi Art with Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, 2018.
She has participated in a number of group exhibitions including: Art Dubai with Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, 2024 & 2023; ICON. ICONIC., Art Here 2022 Richard Mille Art Prize, Louvre Abu Dhabi,2022; Art Dubai, with Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, 2022; Desert X AlUla, 2022; Blue, Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, 2020; Paulo Cunha e Silva Art Prize Finalist Exhibition, Galeria Municipal do Porto, Porto, 2020; Upsurge: Waves, Colour And Illusion, Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, 2020; MATERIALIZE, Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, 2019; Artissima, Dialogue section, with Lawrie Shabibi, Torino, 2018; From Barcelona to Abu Dhabi: Works from the MACBA Art Collection in Dialogue with the Emirates, organised by ADMAF, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, 2018; Beyond: Emerging Artists, Abu Dhabi Art, 2017; Art of Nature, Abu Dhabi Festival, Umm Al Emarat Park, Abu Dhabi, 2017; Homage Without An Homage, curated by Cristiana De Marchi, Art Dubai, Julius Baer Lounge, Dubai, 2017; Faculty Show, Al Rewaq Gallery, College of Fine Art, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, 2017; Abu Dhabi Art, with Lawrie Shabibi, Abu Dhabi, 2016; Past Forward: Contemporary Art from the Emirates, Bolivar Art Gallery, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA, 2016.
Her works have been acquired by significant international collections, including the RMZ Foundation, Bengaluru, India; the Pizzuti Collection of the Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio, USA; Art Jameel Collection, Dubai; The Farjam Foundation, Dubai; The Dubai Collection, Dubai; The Royal Commission for AlUla, Saudi Arabia; EXPO Dubai Collection, Dubai; Ellie Khouri Collection, Dubai; Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, Abu Dhabi; and Cleveland Clinic, Abu Dhabi.
She is a winner of the Paulo Cunha e Silva Art Prize (2020) and was shortlisted for the Louvre Abu Dhabi Richard Mille Art Prize.
Al Mazrou lives and works in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
-
Shaikha Al Mazrou: Dwelling in the Gap
Solo Exhibition 14 Nov 2022 - 5 Jan 2023 GalleryDwelling in the Gap is Shaikha Al Mazrou’s second solo exhibition at Lawrie Shabibi. Here Al Mazrou develops the forms and language of her practice, and extends her investigations into...Read more -
Blue
Group Exhibition 21 Nov 2020 - 12 Jan 2021 GalleryBlue explores the dialectic between meaning and visual sensation. Saturated with meanings - freedom, intuition, imagination, expansiveness, inspiration, sadness, faith, spirituality, wisdom, peace, serenity, ethereality, infinity to name just a...Read more -
Paulo Cunha e Silva Art Prize
Shaikha Al Mazrou at Galeria Municipal do Porto, Portugal 12 Sep - 12 Nov 2020 MuseumsThe Paulo Cunha e Silva Art Prize was created in 2015, by Porto City Council, as a tribute to the former Councilor for Culture, Paulo Cunha e Silva, and is...Read more -
Upsurge: Waves, Colour and Illusion
Group Exhibition 18 Mar - 1 Sep 2020 GalleryBringing together the diverse range of practices of a multi-generational group of artists - Mohamed Melehi (b.1936, Morocco), Mona Saudi (b.1945, Jordan), Hamra Abbas (b.1976, Kuwait), Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim (b....Read more -
Rearranging the Riddle
Shaikha Al Mazrou at Maraya Art Centre, Sharjah 7 Mar - 25 Jul 2020 MuseumsShaikha Al Mazrou’s sculptural experimentations and investigations are expressions of materiality—articulations of tension and the interplay between form and content as well as an intuitive, keenly felt understanding of materials...Read more -
Materialize
Maliheh Afnan, Farhad Ahrarnia, Shaikha Al Mazrou, Asad Faulwell, Fathi Hassan, Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, Nadia Kaabi-Linke, Mona Saudi, Driss Ouadahi, Shahpour Pouyan 18 Mar - 7 Apr 2019 GalleryOpening 18 March in Warehouse 13 -a large space just across from its gallery within Alserkal Avenue- Lawrie Shabibi presents a major group exhibition to coincide with the 12th edition...Read more -
Expansion / Extension
Shaikha Al Mazrou 17 Sep - 1 Nov 2018 GalleryFor her debut solo exhibition Shaikha Al Mazrou presents Expansion/Extension. The title draws from the artist’s own experience conceiving the show – expanding and extending her research into the meaning...Read more
-
The National: Art Dubai rides its buzz to strong sales of contemporary and digital works
Melissa Gronlund, The National , March 3, 2024 -
The National: Noor Riyadh illuminates Saudi capital with immersive artworks
Pieces featured in the accompanying exhibition include those by the Emirati artist Shaikha Al MazrouMaan Jalal, The National , December 10, 2023 -
The National: UAE artist Shaikha Al Mazrou's sculpture heads to medieval gardens in the UK's Cornwall
Melissa Gronlund, The National , August 7, 2023 -
AD: 5 Middle Eastern Artists You Need To Know
Aisha Zaman, Architectural Digest Middle East , July 28, 2023 -
Interview with Shaikha Al Mazrou in The Times Sharjah Report
February 15, 2023 -
Shaikha Al Mazrou in Canvas
Laura Egerton, Canvas, January 1, 2019 -
Shaikha Al Mazrou on Tea with Culture
Wael Hattar, Tea With Culture -
Shaikha Al Mazrou in Architectural Digest, Middle East
Jumana Abdul-Razzaq , Architectural Digest ME, September 10, 2018 -
Shaikha Al Mazrou in The National
Melissa Gronlund, The National, March 29, 2017 -
Shaikha Al Mazrou in the Financial Times
Arsalan Mohammad, Financial Times, December 10, 2016 -
Shaikha Al Mazrou in the Khaleej Times
Kelly Clarke, The Khaleej Times, March 9, 2015 -
Computer Love - an interview with Shaikha Al Mazrou
Asmaa Al-Shabibi, Harpers Bazaar Art Arabia, November 1, 2014
-
Meet Shaikha Al Mazrou | Art Here 2022
Meet the talented artists behind the second edition of Louvre Abu Dhabi's Art Here 2022 February 14, 2023Meet the talented artists behind the second edition of #LouvreAbuDhabiArtHere that illuminates the contemporary art scene in the UAE and GCC region. Today, Shaikha Al...Read more -
Dwelling in the Gap by Shaikha Al Mazrou | Exhibition Tour
November 24, 2022Dwelling in the Gap by Shaikha Al Mazrou 14 November - 5 January 2023Read more -
Shaikha Al Mazrou on her exhibition "Rearranging the Riddle"
Maraya Art Centre 2020 March 7, 2020Explore Shaikha Al Mazrou's exhibition Rearranging the Riddle through this filmed interview with her and curator Cristiana de Marchi.Read more