Karima AL-Shomely

Karima Al Shomely was born in 1965 in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, where she lives today. She received a BA in Economics & Accounting from UAE University, Al-Ain (1986); a BA in Fine Art from the University of Sharjah (2007); and an MA in Fine Art at the Chelsea College of Art and Design in London (2009).

Al Shomely’s photography, painting and installations have been exhibited extensively internationally, and she also lectures in and teaches art. Her recent solo exhibitions include the installation, “Mirror Reflection”, United Nations, New York (2010); “Silence”, the Cultural Palace, Sharjah (2005); “Inner Dialogue”, Sharjah Art Gallery: Bayt Obaid Al Shamsi, Sharjah (2005); and “Paintings”, Sharjah Art Museum (2003).

Her recent group shows include: “Art from the Emirates”, National Museum, Copenhagen (2011); “The Arab Artists Exhibition”, Visual Art Center, Doha (2010); “Face Me and You”, Space Hole and Corner, Seoul (2010); “Across the Gulf”, Brisbane Biennale, Australia (2009); “Emirates Expressionism”, Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi (2009); “Traverses”, Grand Palais, Paris (2008); “Re-Orientations: Contemporary Arab Representations”, European Parliament, Brussels (2008); Nerawan Gallery, Tehran, Iran (2007); an installation at the Musée du Louvre, Paris (2007); “Language of the Desert”, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris (2006) and Kunstmuseum, Bonn (2005); and Centro Andalusia de Arte Contemporaneo, Seville (2006). She was also selected for the Sharjah International Art Biennial (1997, 1999, 2001 and 2003).

Al Shomely’s work has been bought by private galleries and collectors in London, New York, Paris, Germany, Dubai, the USA and Spain and she is in the public collections of the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; ADMA, Abu Dhabi; Armed Forces Officers Club, Abu Dhabi; Abu Dhabi Culture & Heritage Authority; and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha.