ART

CONTENT

NEWS

VISIT

中文

DOWNLOAD THE APP
2026.3.22 - 8.6

In Absence and in Presence: Works from the Sharjah Art Foundation Collection

In Absence and in Presence features more than 70 works across painting, sculpture, photography, video, and textile by 28 artists, the exhibition marks the largest international presentation of the Collection in Asia. Curated around the concept of land as seen through the perspectives of artists from West Asia, South Asia, Africa, and their diasporas, the exhibition follows some of the unique trajectories of artistic practice and experiments in these regions from the 1950s to the present. Seminal modern works are brought into dialogue with contemporary practices, foregrounding the artistic lineages, resonances and continuities that connect generations and situate contemporary art within a deeper historical framework. The exhibition is one of the first institutional efforts in China to survey artistic practices across these interconnected regions.

Introduction

In Absence and in Presence takes its title from Egyptian artist, poet, and writer Ahmed Morsi, whose multidisciplinary practice has long engaged with questions of displacement and the persistence of place. The exhibition unfolds through thematic constellations that explore the interrelations among land, the people who inhabit it, and the imagination that animates it.

‍

Land is approached not only as a geographic condition or setting, but as an enduring presence that informs the artists’ visual language. Human figures appear throughout the galleries as carriers of personal and collective histories, revealing how the identities tied to land can travel across places and generations. Together, the works propose new ways of thinking about continuity and the possibility of belonging across shifting geographies.

‍
The exhibition is curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation, and Damien Zhang, Director of the Aranya Art Center, along with Assistant Curator May Alqaydi and Senior Researcher Souraya Kreidieh from Sharjah Art Foundation, as well as Curatorial Assistant Li Fangwen and Curatorial and Research Fellow Li Xinyang from the Aranya Art Center. It is organized by Aranya Art Center Guangzhou in collaboration with Sharjah Art Foundation.

MOre
Virtual TourExhibition Booklet (PDF)

List of Artists

Commissioned Artist*
Less

Installation Views

Ding Yi

Three Flags

2023

Flag, air blower

Dimensions variable

Commissioned and produced by aranya plein air art project 2023

Installation view, aranya plein air art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Sun Shi

Courtesy of aranya plein air art project

Chen Ruofan

Botanical Bank: 54 Objects Transplanted

2023

Stainless steel, LED, video

400 × 400 × 400 cm

55:92 min.

Commissioned and produced by aranya plein air art project 2023

Installation view, aranya plein air art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Sun Shi

Courtesy of aranya plein air art project

Tom Friedman

Hazmat Love

2017

Stainless steel

150.5 × 118.1 × 107.3 cm

Installation view, aranya plein air art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Sun Shi

Courtesy of the artist, Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong,

Seoul, London and aranya plein air art project

Robert Mapplethorpe

Self Portrait

1981

Silver gelatin print

58.5 × 61 × 3.2 cm (framed)

Installation view, aranya plein air art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Sun Shi

Courtesy of aranya plein air art project

© Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Used by permission.

Courtesy Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, London · Paris · Salzburg · Seoul

Richard Long

Four Ways

2014

Delabole Slate from Cornwall

490 × 498 × 58 cm

Installation view, aranya plein air art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Sun Shi© Richard Long

Courtesy of Lisson Gallery and aranya plein air art project

Prinz Gholam

Stone Faces (Jin Shan Ling)

2023

Stone

Dimensions variable

Commissioned and produced by aranya plein air art project 2023

Installation view, aranya plein air art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Sun Shi

Courtesy of aranya plein air art project

David Zink Yi

Washingtonia

2017

Stainless steel

520 × 100 × 100 cm each

Installation view, aranya plein air art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Sun Shi

Courtesy of the artist, KÖNIG GALERIE, Berlin / Seoul

and aranya plein air art project

Haegue Yang

Migratory DMZ Birds on Asymmetric Lens - Duiitt Duiitt Vessel (Gray-Backed Thrush)

2020

Soapstone, 3D printed resin

158 × 89 × 147 cm

Installation view, aranya plein art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Sun Shi

Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris

and aranya plein air art project

Charles Ray

School Play

2014

Painted fiberglass

193 × 58 × 39 cm

Installation view, aranya plein air art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Sun Shi

© Charles Ray

Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery and aranya plein air art project

Alina Chaiderov

Phoenix

2023

Stainless steel, cable protection tube

512 × 300 × 100 cm

Produced by aranya plein air art project 2023

Installation view, aranya plein air art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Sun Shi

Courtesy of aranya plein air art project

Liang Shuo

Little House

2023

Mosaic tiles

Dimensions variable

Commissioned and produced by aranya plein air art project 2023

Installation view, aranya plein air art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Sun Shi

Courtesy of aranya plein air art project

Vivian Suter

Untitled

Undated

Mixed media on canvas

Dimensions variable

Installation view, aranya plein air art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Sun Shi

Courtesy of the artist, Gladstone Gallery

and aranya plein air art project

Christine Sun Kim

A Permanent Tourist In A Foreign Language

2023

Inkjet printing on stainless-steel sign post

225 × 150 cm × 7 parts

Commissioned and produced by aranya plein air art project 2023

Installation view, aranya plein air art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Sun Shi

Courtesy of aranya plein air art project

Sylvie Fleury

Giant Mushroom

2008

Fiberglass, metallic car paint

260 × 250 × 250 cm

Installation view, aranya plein air art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Sun Shi

Courtesy of the artist, Almine Rech

and aranya plein air art project

Nabuqi

We

2023

3D printing resin, paint

235 × 146 × 75 cm

Commissioned and produced by aranya plein air art project 2023

Installation view, aranya plein air art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Sun ShiCourtesy of aranya plein air art project

Katinka Bock

Parasite Fountain

2019

Bronze, transparent PVC tube, water pump

Fish: 85 cm

Column: 300 × 30 cm

Installation view, aranya plein air art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Sun Shi

Courtesy of aranya plein air art project

Michelle Wang Yiyi

Red Berries

2023

Hawthorn berry, aluminum wire

Dimensions variable

Commissioned and produced by aranya plein air art project 2023

Installation view, aranya plein air art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Zaiye Studio

Courtesy of aranya plein air art project

Chen Xiaoyi

Invisible Liquid

2023

UV print on aluminum plate

Dimensions variable

Commissioned and produced by aranya plein air art project 2023

Installation view, aranya plein air art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Sun Shi

Courtesy of aranya plein air art project

Tony Cragg

Accurate Figure

2011
Carrara Marble
206 × 83 × 91 cm

Installation view, aranya plein air art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Sun Shi

Courtesy of aranya plein air art project

Isabelle Cornaro

Untitled (column #2 & column #3)

2014

Steel structure with black resin castings

66 × 274 × 66 cm each

Installation view, aranya plein air art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Sun Shi

Courtesy of aranya plein air art project

Su Chang

Intersect

2023

Plaster, aluminate, hemp and other mixed materials

Dimensions variable

Commissioned and produced by aranya plein air art project 2023

Installation view, aranya plein air art project

July 7th to October 29th, 2023

Photography Sun Shi

Courtesy of aranya plein air art project

Installation Views

No items found.

About

Participating Artists

‍

Etel Adnan
Latif Al Ani
Tarek Al-Ghoussein
Rasheed Araeen
Baya
Saloua Raouda Choucair
Salah El Mur
Aref El Rayess
Simone Fattal
Madani A. A. Gahory
Abbas Habiballa
Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige
Samia Halaby
Mona Hatoum
Kamala Ibrahim Ishag
Iman Issa
Hayv Kahraman
Marwan Kassab Bachi
Helen Khal
Anuar Khalifi
Farideh Lashai
Jumana Manna
Ahmed Morsi
Khalil Rabah
Zineb Sedira
Hassan Sharif
Mohamed Yousif
Akram Zaatari

‍

‍

‍

Sharjah Art Foundation

‍

Sharjah Art Foundation is an advocate, catalyst and producer of contemporary art within the Emirate of Sharjah and the surrounding region, in dialogue with the international arts community. The Foundation advances an experimental and wide-ranging programmatic model that supports the production and presentation of contemporary art, preserves and celebrates the distinct culture of the region and encourages a shared understanding of the transformational role of art. The Foundation’s core initiatives include the long-running Sharjah Biennial, featuring contemporary artists from around the world; the annual March Meeting, a convening of international arts professionals and artists; grants and residencies for artists, curators and cultural producers; ambitious and experimental commissions and a range of travelling exhibitions and scholarly publications.

Established in 2009 to expand programs beyond the Sharjah Biennial, which launched in 1993, the Foundation is a critical resource for artists and cultural organizations in the Gulf and a conduit for local, regional and international developments in contemporary art. The Foundation’s deep commitment to developing and sustaining the cultural life and heritage of Sharjah is reflected through year-round exhibitions, performances, screenings and educational programs in the city of Sharjah and across the Emirate, often hosted in historic buildings that have been repurposed as cultural and community centers. A growing collection reflects the Foundation’s support of contemporary artists in the realization of new work and its recognition of the contributions made by pioneering modern artists from the region and around the world.

Sharjah Art Foundation is a legally independent public body established by Emiri Decree and supported by government funding, grants from national and international nonprofits and cultural organizations, corporate sponsors and individual patrons. Hoor Al Qasimi serves as President and Director. All exhibitions are free and open to the public.

‍

Sharjah Art Foundation Collection

‍

The Sharjah Art Foundation Collection grew from the seeds of acquisitions and works commissioned for the Sharjah Biennial and the Foundation's programs. The artworks span art movements from the 1920s to the present in an ever-expanding range of visual culture and forms. Reflecting Sharjah’s history as a major regional trade route, the Collection acts as a node that connects cultures through modern and contemporary art. Proposing a re-authoring of art and its histories as well as contextualizing it from a South/South and East/East perspective, the Collection offers a view that seeks to shift the axis to a more inclusive, intergenerational and transcultural history.
‍

Sharjah

‍

Sharjah is the third largest of the seven United Arab Emirates, and the only one bridging the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Reflecting the deep commitment to the arts, architectural preservation and cultural education embraced by its ruler, Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Sharjah is home to more than 20 museums and has long been known as the cultural hub of the United Arab Emirates. It was named UNESCO's Arab Capital of Culture for 1998 and the UNESCO World Book Capital for 2019.

Selected Press