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In the first joint exhibition for this trailblazing father and son duo, Bahrain’s own AbdulRahim and Hisham Sharif draw on the painterly roots of modern art in the Gulf with a fresh, contemporary lens, filling the generational gap on different ends of a vast and dynamic art scene.

Both artists, despite the difference in age, thoroughly show their individual creative journeys through their exhibited pieces. AbdulRahim Sharif is considered an incredibly important and widely celebrated artist internationally and especially across the Arab region, representing his country in many exhibitions across the world. He is also one of Bahrain’s pioneer contemporary artists, leading the way locally as one of the founding members of the Bahrain Arts Society many decades ago. Born in Manama in 1954, AbdulRahim then studied fine arts at Ecole Nationale Superieure des beaux-arts de Paris and later completed an MFA at Parson’s School of Arts in New York, before returning to Bahrain as a full-time artist. Most recently, AbdulRahim was awarded the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Republic in 2022, one of France’s most distinguished official titles.

AbdulRahim is predominantly a painter who is known for his large and colourful canvases which explore the worlds of figuration or abstraction. In his most recent series, River of Sin, he combines the two, and all interestingly from a birds-eye perspective as though we – the viewers – are watching this painted world take place from above. The eight works exhibited as part of this series, all painted between 2012-2021, are large-scale compositions designed to immerse the viewer in this “river”. AbdulRahim has never shied away from confronting tough topics, such as alienation, hardship, and politics, and this work is no different. Inspired by the ongoing fallout of the events of the ‘Arab Spring’, he reflects on the war, corruption and hatred which has engulfed the region, wondering if the people in positions of power are expediting our world towards the Day of Judgement, or Yawm al-Hashr. The rivers he depicts are intended to purify the sins which have overtaken society, with God giving humanity a chance to restart. AbdulRahim initially thought considerably about how to place the countless figures on the canvases, but they slowly began to find their own places, swimming and dancing around each other with such natural fluidity, culminating in an aerial view akin to a detailed, organised Persian carpet. AbdulRahim himself mused on this during a 2020 interview: “the more that people stepped on the carpet, the more it is worth,” creating a fascinating link between the worth of art as a whole, but also the worth of the people, and the suffering and resilience of those living in corrupt societies. Although AbdulRahim has come a long way as an artist over his successful career, the origins of his inspirations and techniques can still be found in his work. The intricate flowing motion with which he creates his naked figures in the rivers hark way back to his early pencil sketches in the 1970s, one of which (a figure in motion) won him the Grande Masse Des Beaux Arts Award in 1976.

This tendency towards immersive, flowing, expressive painting, whether figurative or abstract, is also evident in his son’s work. Born in 1993, Hisham Sharif changed from his original career in finance to art in 2017, when he had his first solo exhibition at the Bahrain Arts Society. A huge success, Hisham’s artistic path began to emerge, winning a recognition award at the 45th Bahrain Annual Fine Arts Exhibition in 2019, and beginning an artists’ residency shortly after in New York City.

His painting career began predominantly in black and white, with Hisham admitting he was struggling and “didn’t feel colour at the time”, creating dramatic figurative works during this period including Women in Private (2017) and beginning his Outlaws series, a collection immersed in darkness which explores the political situation in the wider region and the dynamic between the oppressor and the oppressed. Soon after committing himself entirely to painting, he moved away from figuration and onto seascapes in the Rage series (2018-2019), which he painted with great sensitivity and depth, subtly allowing new and muted tones into his everyday palette. In these works, Hisham explores the power of the sea, stating in an accompanying text: “[the wave] plays its role of violence and destruction but also creation and rebirth through the depths of time. We go but the waves continue.” His view of destruction versus rebirth being within this body of water is much like his father’s intention behind the River of Sin, exploring catharsis and purification of sins within his imagined rivers.

Hisham returned to figuration with chaotic, crowded scenes of cities and celebrations, most of which incorporated hints of colour in otherwise monochrome compositions, as seen in The Third of May 1808 (Homage to Goya) (2018), Crucifixion (Homage to Rembrandt) Version B (2018), Artist and his Models (2019), The Guest was in the Air (2018) and many other works. These bustling paintings, some with elements of inspiration from master artists, all share an expressive quality conveyed through chaotic and heavy brushstrokes expertly placed to draw the viewer in with the painted figures, who roam smoothly in motion throughout the scenes.

When Hisham left New York in March 2020, he felt rejuvenated by his experience, having been exposed to work by exciting artists and feeling energised to start afresh. During lockdown in Bahrain, he spent hours walking in local forests, taking in nature and often in solitude. The result was a series of thirteen landscapes, all painted in 2021, seven of which are in this exhibition. By turning his previous seascapes into landscapes, Hisham intentionally introduced strong, bright colours into his palette, creating a new and extremely personal approach to landscape painting – a break from common understanding of this traditional genre, especially in the Gulf, where there is now less focus on painting and more enthusiasm for conceptual art. His landscapes show him at a reflective crossroads, seeing himself suddenly as an artist immersed in an ocean of colour, then changing perspective as if he’s sitting in a tree, watching the natural world unfold from above. He jumps around from place to place, drawing on memories and dreams to complete the vivid landscapes he carefully composes, also reaching for divine inspiration from “the colours of God.” Through the luscious tones of green, the deep blues and purples and the brilliant pinks and yellows, all applied with his trademark fiery brushstrokes, we get a magical insight into the beautiful, bountiful new world he is swimming, walking, and immersing himself in, both on his canvas and in reality.

Whilst it may seem that these two artists – father and son – are going in entirely different directions both visually and thematically, they share a common understanding and concern for humanity, especially in the face of corruption, war and violence, and a common desire for society to start again. Whether it be amongst the beauty of nature, in an inspiring chaotic city, or in a river or an ocean, collectively washing away the sins, hardship and doubt of the past in the waves, both Abdul Rahim and Hisham Sharif show the pulsating heart under the layers of a painting, persisting in their desire to both understand and inspire humanity with their art.

Mysa Kafil-Hussain