Hazem Harb
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Biography
Visual artist Hazem Harb's trajectory, spanning several decades, maintains an unwavering dialogue with his symbolically charged homeland.
Moving from Gaza to Rome to receive his MFA at The European Institute of Design, and then on to the UAE, Harb has learnt to navigate life as a liminal. Knowing that his place of origin can never be just a 'land', the artist unleashes an ever-evolving repertoire of artistic techniques to negotiate a space which has been carved up and re-drawn many times. His art is at once subsumed in deep locality, fuelled by personal insight, and entangled in conversations that cannot be easily separated from the global arena. His practice is intended more as visual excavation than romanticisation of the Other, and through it, we can explore the paradoxical and pressured relations between people and places.
Steering away from nostalgia and the fetishisation of displacement, he draws from academia, architecture, as well as European art traditions, to negotiate an axis of complex social and cultural relations; built and natural environments, longing and belonging.
Much like the artists of the early twentieth century who, through the deployment of collage, healed from the trauma of the First World War by binding together everyday and artistic experiences, Harb succeeds in materialising complex and unfamiliar terrain. Operating as a researcher, by collecting and synthesising archives of rarified ephemera including photographs, negatives and maps, Harb mediates his materials in a manner which dismantles them from a static space. Through a process of collage, layered down with geometric precision, he stitches visual artefacts together and forms fresh constructions that invite unheard discourses and a historical rethinking.
Harb’s work is held in major international institutional collections, including the British Museum, the Centre Georges Pompidou, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, among others.EDUCATION
2009, MFA, The European Institute of Design, Rome, Italy
2006, Course in Visual Art, Academy of Fine Arts, Rome, Italy
SOLO EXHIBITIONS2025, Not There, Yet Felt, Tabari Artspace, Dubai, UAE
2024, Gauze, Tabari Artspace, Dubai, UAE2021, Temporary Museum. For Palestine, Maraya Art Centre, UAE
2020, Contemporary Heritage, Tabari Artspace, Dubai, UAE
2019, Power Does Not Defeat Memory, Sabsay Gallery, Copenhagen
2015, The Invisible Landscape and Concrete Futures, Salsali Private Museum, Dubai, UAE
2014, Present Future, Artissima, Italy
2013, Al Baseera, Athr Gallery, Jeddah, KSA
2012, Satellite Space, Dubai, UAE
2012, Me and The Other Half, Art13, London, UK (Represented by Athr Gallery Jeddah, KSA
2012, I Can Imagine You Without Your Home, Etemad Gallery, Dubai, UAE
2010, Is This Your First Time In Gaza? The Mosaic Rooms, Al Qattan Foundation, London, UK
2007, Made by War, National Ethnographic and Pre-Historical Museum Luigi Pigorini, Rome, Italy
2006, Life on a Line, Rome, Florence, Rimini, Bologna, Salerno, Italy
2005, Improvisational Waves, Al-Hallaj Gallery, Ramallah, Palestine
2004, Exit, French Cultural Centre, Gaza, Palestine
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026, Same Air, Tabari Artspace, Dubai, UAE
2025-6, Observers of Change, in collaboration with Barjeel Art Foundation, Etihad Museum, UAE
2025, Art Week Riyadh, KSA
2025, Off-Screen, 4th Ed., Paris, France
2024, Between the Tides: A Gulf Quinquennial, NYU Gallery, Abu Dhabi2022, Portrait of a Nation II, ADMAF, Abu Dhabi
2020-21, Global(e) Resistance, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France2020, Al Baseera, CAP Kuwait, Kuwait
2019-20, Gohyang: Home, SeMA, Seoul Museum of Art, Korea
2018, Kamel Lazaar Foundation, Jaou Tunis, Tunisia
2018, Active Forms, Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE
2018, El Beit, Tabari Artspace, Dubai, UAE
2016, Al Haraka Baraka: In Movement There is Blessing, Maraya Art Center, Al Qasba, UAE 2016, Chers Amis - MNAM, Centre Pompidou, Paris
2015, Common Grounds, Villa Stuck Museum, Munich, Germany
2015, Politics & The Production of Space: The Written City, City Halls, Bruges, Belgium
2015, RCD>PLY>RWD>FFWD>STOP>EJ, curated by Aya Haidar, Kashya Hildebrand Gallery, London, UK
2013 and 2014, Sphere 6, Galleria Continua's Le Moulin, France
2013, Traces & Revelations, The Oriental Museum, Durham University, Durham, UK
2013, Resilience and Light: Contemporary Palestinian Art, Studio 3 Gallery, University of Kent. Curated by Aser El Saqqa of Arts Canteen, UK
2012, Art: Gwangju: 12 2012- LIFE IS TOO SHORT, Salsali Private Museum, Dubai, UAE 2011, Passport To Palestine, La Scatola Gallery and Janet Rady Fine Art London, UK, AM Qattan Foundation Project Space 2010, A Patch On My Evil Eye, The Arab British Centre, London, UK
2009, Young Artists from Occupied Palestine and the Golan Heights (Selected works) The Mosaic Rooms, AM Qattan Foundation, London, UK 22 Gaza; An Everlasting Memory, Gaza, Palestine, Exposition de Gaza à Morlaix au Roudour - Morlaix, France
Gaza 61 + Seoul 59 Gallery Young (Samchun-dong), Seoul, South Korea
2008, Labyrinth, Finalists' Group Show, The Hasan Hourani Award, AM. Qattan Foundation Ramallah, Palestine
2007, Installation for Earth Day, Faculty of Engineering, University of Rome, Rome, Italy 2006, Passages of Time, National Ethnographic and Pre-historical Museum Luigi Pigorini, Rome, Italy
2006, The Freedom and Life Promise, (travelling exhibition) La Flèche, Mayet, Le Grand Luce, Chartres, Château de Loire, France
2005, There is Not Night Enough to Dream Twice (in cooperation with UNDP), Dubai, UAE
2005, Colours of Hope (in cooperation with UNDP) PAPP's Fourth Annual Art Action - Moi ET l'autre, Egyptian Cultural Centre, Paris, France
2003, The Dust of the Land, Arts and Crafts Village, Gaza, Palestine
2003, Artists from Gaza, Gallery al-Qamariya, University of Bir Zeit, Palestine
2003, September Darat al-Funun, Abdel Hamid Shoman Foundation, Amman, Jordan
2003, Artists have a Different Opinion, Rashad al-Shawa Cultural Centre, Gaza, Palestine 2003, 2x12, Arts and Crafts Village, Gaza, Palestine
PROJECTS / PERFORMANCES
2014, Live performance of Al Baseera #18, Live Art Window, Dubai, UAE
2014, Between Past and Present; A Dialogue of Conceptual Photos, Public Art Project, Alserkal, Dubai, UAE
2014, We Used to Fly on Water, Installation project, 21,39 Jeddah Arts, Athr Gallery, Jeddah, KSA
2003, Performance Départ, music and Arabic calligraphy, French Cultural Centre, Gaza, Palestine
BIENNIALS2026, Diriyah Biennale, KSA
2019, Eyes East Bound, Cairo Biennale 13, Egypt2017, The Absence of Paths, Tunisian Pavilion, 57th Biennale di Venezia, Italy
2014, A View From Inside, FotoFest Houston Biennial, Houston, USA
ART FAIRS
2026, Art Basel Qatar (Tabari Artspace)
2025, Abu Dhabi Art, Abu Dhabi, UAE (Tabari Artspace)2024, Abu Dhabi Art, UAE (Tabari Artspace)
2023, Abu Dhabi Art, UAE (Tabari Artspace)
2022, Art Dubai, UAE (Tabari Artspace)
2021, Beyond (Abu Dhabi Art commission) and Maraya Art Centre booth, Abu Dhabi Art2018, Art Berlin, Everlasting Presence of an Excluded Memory, Tabari Artspace, Berlin
2016, The Armory Show (Athr Gallery) New York
2014, 2013, 2012, Art Dubai, Dubai (Athr Gallery)
2014, 2012, Artissima, Present Future, Torino, Italy (Athr Gallery)
2014, Paris Photo, Paris, France (Athr Gallery)
2014, 2013, Abu Dhabi Art, Abu Dhabi, UAE (Athr Gallery)
2014, FIAC, Paris, France (Athr Gallery)
2014, START, Saachi Gallery, (Athr Gallery), London
2013, Art International Istanbul, Athr Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
2012, Art13, (Athr Gallery), London, UK
AWARDS AND RESIDENCIES
2013, City international des arts, Al Mansouria Foundation
2012, Satellite, Dubai, UAE
2011, The Delfina Foundation and A.M. Qattan Foundation, London, UK
2010, The Mosaic Rooms, AM. Qattan Foundation, London, UK
2008, Young Artist of the Year, AM. Qattan Foundation, Palestine, Darat Al Funun, Khalid Shoman Foundation, Amman, Jordan
2006, Five-month training internship in visual art, scholarship awarded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Academy of Fine Arts, Rome, Italy
2001, Darat al-Funun, Abdel Hamid Shoman Foundation (Amman, Jordan) selected by Khalil Al-Sakakini Cultural Centre, Ramallah, Palestine
SELECTED PRESS
2026, Qatar TV [interview on presentation at Art Basel]
2026, At Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah Biennale, Art Moves in Procession,2026, Slow and Purposeful: Art Basel Qatar 2026, Art Asia Pacific
2026, Best Booths at Art Basel, Artsy
2026, In Motion: Inside the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2026, Vogue Arabia
2025, Feature, BBC Arabic
2024, The Art of Resistance, Hazem Harb, Plantd Journal
2024, Palestinian Artist Hazem Harb, Architectural Digest
2024, Coming Out as Palestinian, Financial Times
2024, My Heart is Still in Gaza, Afterall
2021, Architectural Digest Middle East, This Palestinian Artist Is Crafting A Visual Reclamation Of His Homeland, UAE2020, GQ MIddle East, Palestinian Artist Hazem Harb Is Reframing Memories, UAE
2020, Gulf News, Palestinian Hazem Harb brings his heritage alive through art, UAE
2019, Wall Street International, Hazem Harb in Sabsay Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2019, Tribe Photo Magazine, Hazem Harb: New Histories Collaging Palestine's Past
2019, MOJEH Magazine, Bridging Borders
2018, Harper's Bazaar, Palestine Through Three Eyes
2018, The National, Palestinian artist Hazem Harb Leads Nomadic Existence
2012, Contemporary Art Practices, Volume X Hazem Harb, By Jareh Das
2012, Rolling Stone Magazine, Hazem Harb Documents Plight of his Native Gaza
2012, Al Arabiya News (broadcast), Hazem Harb, Portraying suffering of Palestinians at the Gaza crossing
2004, BBC (broadcast) Hazem Harb, Art imitates life in Gaza By Alan Johnston, BBC correspondent in Gaza
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2022, The Art of the Emirates II, Motivate Media Group
2020, Cities Under Quarantine, The Mailbox Project
2015, Contemporary Art from the Middle East: Regional Interactions with Global Art Discourses (International Library of Modern and Contemporary Art by Hamid Keshmirshekan (Editor)SELECTED COLLECTIONS
AM. Qattan Foundation, London, UK
CAP, Kuwait
Centre George Pompidou, Paris, France
Faurschou Foundation, Copenhagen
Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan bin Khalifa AL Nayhan, UAEIthra Collection, Saudi Arabia
LACMA, Los Angeles, USSharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE
SPM, Salsali Private Museum, Dubai, UAE
The British Museum, London, UK
The Oriental Museum, Durham University, UK -
Works
Art Basel Qatar -
Exhibitions
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Be The Stone
Tabari, Frieze Abu Dhabi 2026 19 - 22 November 2026Tabari Artspace presents Be the Stone , a multi-artist booth bringing together Egyptian artist Khaled Zaki (b. 1964, Suez, Egypt), Iraqi-British artist Irene Scheinmann (b. 1933, Baghdad, Iraq), and Palestinian...Explore -
Tabari Artspace Presents Hazem Harb at Art Basel
3 - 7 February 2026Tabari Artspace presents a solo booth dedicated to Palestinian visual artist Hazem Harb at Art Basel, Qatar, 2026. Harb’s project mobilises archaeology as a critical framework through which to examine...Explore -
Tabari Artspace Presents Hazem Harb at Offscreen, Paris
21 - 26 October 2025The Labyrinth (2021) The Labyrinth is an immersive site-specific, installation built around a 1920 black-and-white photograph of Jerusalem. This historic cityscape shows a diverse architectural identity: Arabic, Ottoman and Christian...Explore -
Not There, Yet Felt | لستُ هُناك، ولكنك محسوس, Hazem Harb Solo
Tabari Artspace 12 April - 27 May 2025'I have long been drawn to surfaces, materials, and artefacts that bear witness to time and summon its weight. Previously, my work was often produced at a distance, centered around...Explore -
Hazem Harb, Group Exhibition, ICD Brookfield Place Arts and Dar Jacir for Art and Research
Water Like Tears, Flour Like Soil 13 November - 4 December 2024'Exploring themes of land and cultural resistance, Water like tears, flour like soil is a group exhibition formed in partnership between ICD Brookfield Place Arts and Dar Jacir for Art...Explore -
Hazem Harb Participates in Between the Tides: A Gulf Quinquennial, NYU Abu Dhabi
1 October 2024 - 20 April 2025The inaugural Between the Tides بين المد والجذر: A Gulf Quinquennial opens at NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery on October 1, celebrating the gallery's 10th anniversary with a survey of...Explore -
Gauze, Hazem Harb Solo, Curated by Munira Al Sayegh
Tabari Artspace 22 January - 15 February 2024Palestinian visual artist, Hazem Harb presents Gauze a solo exhibition curated by Munira Al Sayegh. Gauze offers insight into the multifaceted significance of the material 'gauze' within Palestinian collective histories,...Explore -
Tabari Artspace Presents Hazem Harb at Abu Dhabi Art 2023
Dystopia Is Not A Noun 22 - 26 November 2023For Abu Dhabi Art, Palestinian visual artist Hazem Harb has produced a new body of work, Dystopia Is Not A Noun , against the backdrop of the atrocities inflicted upon...Explore -
Hazem Harb Presents at Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris
What Palestine Brings to the World 31 May - 19 November 2023Hazem Harb, What Palestine brings to the world, Group Exhibition, Institut du monde arabe, ParisExplore -
Tabari Artspace Presents Hazem Harb at Art Dubai 2022
11 - 13 March 2022For Art Dubai, Palestinian visual artist, Hazem Harb presented a multidisciplinary body of work entitled, Thorns (2022), combining 2-dimensional collages and installation. This latest series continued Harb’s visual investigation into...Explore -
Hazem Harb Participates in Portrait of a Nation II, Curated by Maya El Khalil and Roxane Zand
Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, UAE 21 January - 16 April 2022Portrait of a Nation II: Beyond Narratives curated by Maya El Khalil and co-curated by Roxane Zand was inaugurated by HE Sheikh Shakhbout bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of State, on 21 January.Explore -
Hazem Harb Solo Exhibition at Maraya Art Centre
Temporary Museum. For Palestine 20 October 2021 - 10 February 2022Presented at Maraya Art Centre, Hazem Harb's first institutional solo exhibition in the United Arab Emirates was "Temporary Museum. For Palestine".Explore -
HollyLand, Hazem Harb Solo Exhibition
Tabari Artspace 22 March - 10 April 2021Moving Studio was a moment of immersion in Palestinian culture with a private studio visit held at the new Alserkal address of Palestinian visual artist, Hazem Harb.Explore -
Contemporary Heritage
Hazem Harb 29 June - 1 September 2020Presented in Tabari Artspace gallery in Dubai, Contemporary Heritage was a mixed media exhibition by visual artist Harb, marking his first solo show at the gallery since 2015.Explore
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Hazem Harb Solo Exhibition at Sabsay Gallery, Copenhagen
Power Does Not Defeat Memory 31 January - 23 March 2019This solo exhibition of Palestinian artist, Hazem Harb, presented at Sabsay Gallery recovered else forgotten moments of Palestine’s past from oblivion, reintroducing them in collages of photographic material and architectural shapes.Explore -
Tabari Artspace Presents Hazem Harb at Art Berlin
The Everlasting Presence of an Excluded Memory 27 - 30 September 2018Presented at Art Berlin art fair, ‘The Everlasting Presence of an Excluded Memory’ was the solo exhibition of Hazem Harb composed of a selection of abstract collages on canvas that lend new meaning to archival materials sourced from his native Palestine.Explore
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El Beit Featuring Hazem Harb, Sliman Mansour and Mohammad Joha
Tabari 6 February - 8 March 2018Presented in Tabari Artspace's Dubai Gallery, El Beit was a collective showing of contemporary and modernist Palestinian artists exploring themes of identity through painting, photography and sculpture.Explore
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Press
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Featured Artist Hazem Harb: 'Back to Zero'
Malu Halasa, The Markaz Review, 3 May 2026 -
In Motion: Inside the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2026
Aisha Zaman, Vogue Arabia, 12 February 2026 -
Ocula, 'Are Galleries Playing It Safe at the Inaugural Art Basel Qatar?'
Ocula, 10 February 2026 -
Art Basel Qatar and the Art of Slowing Down
Virginie Puertolas Syn, Artlyst, 10 February 2026 -
Slow and Purposeful: Art Basel Qatar 2026
Valentina Buzzi, Art Asia Pacific, 9 February 2026 -
The 10 Best Booths at Art Basel Qatar 2026
Arun Kakar, Artsy, 4 February 2026 -
At Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah Biennale, Art Moves in Procession
Elise Morton, Observer, 2 February 2026 -
Hazem Harb anchors collective memory in the face of eroding identity.
BBC News عربي (BBC News Arabic), 7 March 2025 -
Hazem Harb: 'My Heart Is Still in Gaza'
Melissa Gronlund, Afterall, 10 September 2024 -
Coming out as Palestinian
Zahira Jaser, Financial Times, 30 March 2024
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