RASHID AL KHALIFA Bahraini, b. 1952
Born in Bahrain in 1952. He lives and works in Bahrain.
Rashid Al Khalifa is a major artist from the Gulf. After his first exhibition in 1970, he studied in the UK before returning to Bahrain in 1978, where he was inspired by European Impressionists to depict his surroundings. In the 1980s, he explored geometric abstraction and color field, gradually integrating figurative elements into his work.
In the late 1990s, he discovered the convex canvas, a format that became central to his work, where he fused abstraction, landscapes, and figures. From the 2000s onward, he enriched his compositions with materials such as lacquer and chrome, exploring light and texture. His works have been exhibited globally, notably at the Venice Biennale (2015) and the Saatchi Gallery (2018). In 2020, a monograph dedicated to his work, Rashid Al Khalifa, Full Circle, was published by Rizzoli. Today, he continues to explore the dynamics of light and color, paying tribute to the heritage of the Middle East in a resolutely contemporary perspective.
