Sharif Bey

Biography

Sharif  Bey is a Syracuse-based artist and educator. Shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union, Bey studied sculpture at The Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia. Later, he earned his BFA from Slippery Rock University, his MFA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a PhD in art education from Penn State University.  Inspired by modernism, functional pottery, Oceanic Art and Art of the African diaspora, Bey’s works investigate the cultural and political significance of adornment and the sym-bolic and formal properties of archetypal motifs, while questioning how the meaning of icons and function transform across cultures and time.

 

His awards include The United States Artist Fellowship (2022), The Pollock-Krasner Fellowship (2018), and The New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship (2017). Bey’s works are featured in numerous public collections including: The Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery, The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, The Carnegie Museum of Art, The Columbus Museum, Art Bridges Foundation, New Orleans Museum of Art, The Dallas Museum of Art, The Mint Museum, and The Nelson Atkins Museum among others. Exhibitions in 2024 include Sand, Ash, Heat: Glass at the New Orleans Museum of  Art  and solo exhibitions at albertz benda, New York and the John Kohler Arts Center, Wisconsin. A forthcoming solo exhibition, Sharif Bey: Homecoming, will be presented at the The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh in 2026.

Works
Exhibitions
Art Fairs
News
Press
Bibliography

SHARIF BEY, PhD.
B. 1974, Pittsburgh, PA
Lives and works in Syracuse, New York


EDUCATION
2007       Ph.D. in Art Education, The Pennsylvania State

                  University, University Park, PA

2000       Masters of Fine Arts in Studio Art. University of North

                  Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC

1998        Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics, Slippery Rock

                  University of Pennsylvania, Slippery Rock, PA

 

1994-95  Exchange Student in the Studio of Jozef Jankovic

                   (Sculpture), Academy of Fine Arts and Design

                   in Bratislava, Slovak Republic


1988-92  Ceramics, Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild Apprenticeship

                   Program, Pittsburgh, PA


UNIVERSITY TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2022        Associate Professor of Studio Art Syracuse University,

                   Syracuse, NY


2015-21    Associate Professor of Art Education Syracuse

                    University, Syracuse, NY


2009-15   Assistant Professor of Art Education Syracuse University, 

                     Syracuse, NY


2014           Visiting Professor Virginia Commonwealth University,

                     Richmond, VA


2005-09    Assistant Professor of Art Education Winston Salem

                       State University, Winston Salem, NC


SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY
Westmoreland Musuem of American Art, Greensburg, PA
Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Washington, DC
The Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX
The Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC
Columbus Museum of Art (Pizzuti Collection), Columbus, OH
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, KS
Rhode Island School of Design Art Museum, Providence, RI
The Belger Foundation, Kansas City, MO
The Art Museum of West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
The Hickory Museum of Art, Hickory, NC
The United States Embassy, Jakarta, ID
The United States Embassy, Khartoum, SD
The United States Embassy, Kampala, UG
The John Michael Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, WI
The Paul Robeson Culture Center, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC
The Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, Pittsburgh, PA
The J. William Fulbright Commission, Bratislava, SK
Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY


SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2026       Sharif Bey: Homecoming, The Andy Warhol Museum,

                          Pittsburgh, PA  (forthcoming)


2024       Crowns Encoded, albertz benda, New York, NY


2023        Sharif Bey: Ancestral Vestiges, Belger Arts Center,

                            Kansas City, MO


2022        Sharif Bey: Facets, Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY
                   Colonial Ruptures, Gardiner Museum, Toronto, CA


2021         Sharif Bey: Excavations, Carnegie Museum of Art,

                              Pittsburgh, PA

                   Sharif Bey: Revelations in Power, albertz benda, New 

                               York,  NY


2019          Sharif Bey: Intuitions, Fault Lines, and Musings, Concept 

                                Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA


2018          Renwick Invitational: Disrupting Craft (24 works displayed), 

                                 Renwick Gallery Smithsonian American Art Museum,

                                 Washington, DC
                    Sharif Bey: Dialogues in Clay and Glass, Pittsburgh Glass

                                  Center, Pittsburgh, PA


2017           Sharif Bey: Lived History and Cultural Memory, Baltimore

                                   Clayworks, Baltimore, MD


2015           Sharif Bey: Recent Works, Allegany Arts Council, Cumberland,

                                    MD


2014           Food for Thought, Touchstone Center for Crafts, Farmington, PA
                     Obsessions, Coastal Carolina Community College, Jacksonville,

                                     NC


SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024          Queens, Gods, and Devotees, Frances M. Maguire Art Museum,              

                     Merion, PA 

   Sand, Ash, Heat: Glass at the New Orleans Museum of Art, 

                    New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA

                     Clocking In, Clocking Out, John Michael Kohler Arts Center,     

                      Sheboygan, WI

               

2023           Recent Acquisitions, Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC
                      Peace, Power, and Prestige; The Metal Arts in Africa, Bard

                                       Graduate Center, New York, NY


2022            New Arrivals, Belger Art Center, Kansas City, MO
                       Endless Summer, albertz benda, Los Angeles, CA


2021             Sharif Bey, Eddy Kamuanga, Pat Phillips, Michael Ray Charles,

                                          Kathia St. Hilaire, Zidoun-Bossuyt Gallery, Luxembourg

                                          City, LU THIS IS AMERICA, Kunstraum Potsdam, Berlin,

                                         DE


2020            Fragmented Bodies, albertz benda gallery, New York, NY


2019             The Pittsburgh Anthology, Carnegie Museum of Art,

                                         Pittsburgh, PA

                        Conjuring Wholeness in the Wake of Rupture, De Buck Gallery/1-

                                           54 Contemporary African Art Fair, New York, NY
                        Afrocosmologies, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art,

                                           Hartford, CT


2018              Art in the Embassies, Jakarta, Indonesia (Invited Commission

                                           and Permanent Installation)
                        Making a Difference, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
                        Visual Voices, Contemporary Crafts, Pittsburgh, PA


2017               Making it in Crafts, The Art Museum of LaFayette,

                                             LaFayette, IN
                        Crafting Resistance, Boise State University Museum, Boise, ID


2016               Art in the Embassies, Kampala, UG
                         Tribute to the Harlem Renaissance: Works from 

                                               Permanent Collection, The Hickory Museum of Art,

                                              Hickory, NC


2014                Conceal/Reveal: New Work from the Faculty of the College

                                                of Visual and Performing Arts, SU Galleries,

                                              Syracuse University, NY
                            ARTS/INDUSTRY: Collaboration and Revelation, John

                                               Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
                             Collector's Choice: Inside the Hearts and Minds of Regional 

                                                 Collectors, The Cummer Museum of Art &

                                                Gardens, Jacksonville, FL


INVITED LECTURER
2022                  The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
                             Gardiner Museum, Toronto, CA

2021                   Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA


2019                   University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
                             College Art Association, New York, NY
                             The Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum,

                                                  Washington, DC


2018                    Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH
                              Germana Community College, Fredericksburg, VA


2017                    George Mason University, Fairfax, VA


2016                    Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
                              Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
                              National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts

                                                   (NCECA) annual conference, Demonstrator,

                                                   Kansas City, MO


2015                    The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
                              71 Cedar Arts Center, Corning, NY
                              Community College of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA


2014                    Onslow County Schools, Day of the Arts, Jacksonville, NC
                              Coastal Carolina Community College, Jacksonville, NC
                              Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA


2010                   Community College of Alleghany County-Boyce Campus,

                                                       Monroeville, PA


2009                  Hunter College, New York, NY
                             Taylor Gallery, SUNY Oswego, NY
                             Reynolda House Museum of American Art,

                                                        Winston Salem, NC


2008                  The McColl Center for Visual Art, Charlotte, NC
                              Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, PA
                              The James Michener Museum of Art, Doylestown, PA
                              Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC
                              North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University,

                                                        Greensboro, NC
                              Tidewater Community College, Virginia Beach, VT


2007                    California University of Pennsylvania, California, PA
                               The Hickory Museum of Art, Hickory, NC


ARTIST RESIDENCIES
2022                     Archie Bray Foundation for Ceramic Arts, Summer 2022

                                                          Artist in Residence, Helena, MT


2021                      Archie Bray Foundation for Ceramic Arts, Summer 2021

                                                          Artist in Residence, Helena, MT


2017                       Pittsburgh Glass Center, Idea Furnace, Spring 2017 -

                                                         Spring 2018 Artist in Residence, Pittsburgh, PA
                                 The Union Project, Spring 2017-Spring 2018 Artist in

                                                          Residence, Pittsburgh, PA


2014                       John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Arts and Industry, Spring

                                                          2014 Artist in Residence, Sheboygan, WI


2009                      Hunter College, Summer 2009 Artist in Residence, New

                                                          York, NY
                                 Vermont Studio Center, Summer 2009 Artist in

                                                          Residence, Johnson, VT


2007                      McColl Center for Visual Arts, Fall 2007 Artistin

                                                          Residence, Charlotte, NC


2003                      The Academy of Fine Arts and Design, 2003-2004 Artist

                                                         in Residence, Bratislava, SK

2002                      The University of Kentucky, Fall 2002 Artist in Residence, 

                                                        Lexington, KY


AWARDS,GRANTS & HONORS
2022                     USA Fellowship, United States Artist, Chicago, IL


2019                       Seinfeld Faculty Award for Outstanding Achievement,

                                                          Syracuse University, NY
                                 Faculty Award for Research Excellence, College of Visual

                                                          and Performing Arts, Syracuse University,

                                                          Syracuse, NY
                                 Conrad Nelson Fellowship, Millersville University,

                                                          Millersville, PA


2018                       Pollock-Krasner Award, Pollock-Krasner Foundation, New

                                                          York, NY


2017                        New York Foundation on the Arts- Fellowship awardee in

                                                          the Crafts/Sculpture category

2014                       John Michael Kohler Art Center- Residency Program

                                                          Fellowship, Sheboygan, WI
2011                         Slovak Academic Information Agency, National 

                                                         Research, Bratislava, SK


2008                        Winston Salem Arts Council, Regional Artist Grant

                                                         Recipient

                                    North Carolina Arts Council, Artis in Education/Artist in

                                                          Residence

                                    Vermont Studio Center, Civil Society Institute Artist

                                                          Fellowship, Johnson, VT