ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Hassan Sharif's 'Objects' as Storytelling at Gallery Isabelle

exhibition · 2026-04-23

Gallery Isabelle presents 'The Storyteller,' an exhibition of Hassan Sharif's 'Objects' that recontextualizes his practice through Walter Benjamin's 1936 essay on storytelling and craft. The show spans from the mid-1980s to 2016, emphasizing materiality and manual labor. Sharif, who died in 2016, described himself as a 'single work artist.' His works, though handcrafted through repetitive actions like cutting and weaving, resist industrial anonymity. The exhibition pairs objects with texts to trace a fragmented biography.

Key facts

  • Exhibition titled 'The Storyteller' references Walter Benjamin's 1936 essay.
  • Features Hassan Sharif's 'Objects' from mid-1980s to 2016.
  • Sharif died in 2016.
  • Works are handcrafted through repetitive manual tasks.
  • Sharif used feminine alter ego Sharifa Hassan for some weavings.
  • He characterized himself as a 'single work artist.'
  • Exhibition at Gallery Isabelle.
  • Includes text-manifesto 'Weaving' from 2005 Sharjah Biennial catalogue.

Entities

Artists

  • Hassan Sharif
  • Walter Benjamin
  • Sharifa Hassan

Institutions

  • Gallery Isabelle
  • Sharjah Biennial

Sources