Born in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 1952, Rashid Al Khalifa is one of the Gulf region’s leading contemporary artists, internationally recognised for his pioneering explorations of colour, light, form, and architectural space.
Rashid held his first solo exhibition in Bahrain in 1970 at the age of eighteen before moving to the United Kingdom in 1972 to study at Hastings College of Arts and Technology in Sussex. Returning to Bahrain in 1978, he began developing atmospheric paintings inspired by the landscapes, sea, desert, and historical architecture of his homeland. These early works were exhibited internationally, including at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C. in 1982.
Over the following decades, Rashid continually transformed his artistic language, moving from landscape and figurative painting toward geometric abstraction, colour field painting, and increasingly conceptual forms of expression. By the late 1990s, his experimentation with structure and spatial form led to the development of his now distinctive convex canvases, which became central to his practice from 2000 onwards.
Through layered surfaces, lacquer, chrome, aluminium, and sculptural interventions, Rashid’s work investigates the interaction between light, shadow, reflection, and materiality. His evolving practice draws deeply from Bahrain’s changing urban and cultural landscape while simultaneously engaging with contemporary architectural and minimalist aesthetics.
In 2010, the landmark exhibition Convex: A New Perspective at the Bahrain National Museum showcased a decade of innovation surrounding the artist’s convex works and marked a major turning point in his career. In 2015, the artist officially participated in the 56th Venice Biennale, further expanding his international presence.
Rashid’s later works evolved into large-scale sculptural and parametric installations, culminating in internationally acclaimed exhibitions including Penumbra: Textured Shadow, Coloured Light at Saatchi Gallery, London, in 2018. Since then, Rashid Al Khalifa’s work has been exhibited extensively across the Middle East, Europe, and the United States through major exhibitions, biennales, institutional collaborations, and international art fairs.
In 2020, Rizzoli published Rashid Al Khalifa: Full Circle, a major publication exploring the artist’s lifelong relationship with light, landscape, geometry, and Bahraini cultural identity.
Beyond his artistic practice, Rashid Al Khalifa has contributed significantly to Bahrain’s cultural landscape through art patronage, publishing initiatives, and support for contemporary artistic dialogue across the region through his longstanding engagement with international artists, cultural institutions, and members of royal and noble communities.
Today, Rashid Al Khalifa continues to explore the dynamic relationship between light, colour, architecture, and perception through immersive contemporary works that bridge traditional Middle Eastern aesthetics with modern abstraction and sculptural form.
Past Exhibitions & Projects
- SOLO EXHIBITIONS
- BIENNIALS
- GROUP EXHIBITIONS
- ART FAIRS
- BAHRAIN ARTS SOCIETY PARTICIPATION
- Private & Public Collections
2026 — Shades of White, Galerie Dorothea van der Koelen, Mainz, Germany
2025 — Quintessence, Q Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2024 — Continuum, Credo Bonum Foundation, Sofia, Bulgaria
2024 — Circular Simplicity, Das Kleine Museum, Weissenstadt, Germany
2023 — First Light, Zurab Tseretseli Museum of Modern Art, Tbilisi, Georgia
2023 — First Light, Heydar Aliyev Center, Baku, Azerbaijan
2022 — Cusp, Liechtenstein Landesmuseum, Vaduz, Liechtenstein
2022 — Construction of Light & Shadow, Rosenhang Museum, Weilburg, Germany
2022 — Construction of Light & Shadow, Galerie Hotel Mond, Berlin, Germany
2022 — Spectrum, Liechtenstein Landesmuseum, Vaduz, Liechtenstein
2021 — Rashid Al Khalifa, Opera Gallery, Dubai, UAE
2021 — Tesselate, Mario Mauroner Contemporary Art, Vienna, Austria
2019 — In Parallel, Bait Muzna Gallery, Muscat, Oman
2018 — Penumbra: Textured Shadow, Coloured Light, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
2018 — Hybrids, Ayyam Gallery, Dubai, UAE
2012 — Reflections, The Waterline Gallery, Bahrain Financial Harbour, Bahrain
2010 — Convex: A New Perspective, Bahrain National Museum, Bahrain
1997 — Art Department, Shuman Arts Organization, Amman, Jordan
1996 — De Caliet Gallery, Milan, Italy
1996 — El Kato Kayyel Gallery, Milan, Italy
1982 — Middle East Institute, Washington, D.C., USA
1982 — Sheraton Hotel, Manama, Bahrain
1970 — Dilmun Hotel, Manama, Bahrain
2026 —ECC Venice’s Personal Structures, Giardini di Marinaressa, Venice, Italy
2021 — Living Together-Crossing Borders, 4th Mediterranean Biennale, Sakhnin, Israel
2019 — Moscow Biennale, New Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia
2017 — Bridges, Grenada Pavilion, 57th Venice Biennale, Italy
2017 — Out of Place, 3rd Mediterranean Biennale, Sakhnin Valley, Israel
2015 — Arab Delegation, TRIO Biennial, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2015 — Nomi/Names, Official Exhibition, 56th Venice Biennale, Italy
2015 — The Eye of the Thunderstorm: Effervescent Practices from the Arab World,
Official Collateral Event, 56th Venice Biennale, Italy
2025 — Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival “26”, Sharjah, UAE
2025 — Omra E Luce, Mario Mauroner Contemporary, Salzburg
2025 — Fragments of Folklore, JAX District, THAA – MIR’A & TRIYAD, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2024 — Die Nacht, Mario Mauroner Contemporary, Salzburg, Austria
2024 — Particolare, Vienna Contemporary, Vienna, Austria
2023 — Forever is Now, Pyramids of Giza, Giza, Egypt
2023 — East Meets West, Mario Mauroner Gallery, Salzburg, Austria
2023 — Time is a Child, Galerist Istanbul, Leros, Greece
2023 — Fire- Water- Earth- Air, Mario Mauroner Gallery, Salzburg, Austria
2023 — An Intimate Distance, Mario Mauroner Gallery, Salzburg, Austria
2022 — Dangerous Beauty, Mario Mauroner Gallery, Salzburg, Austria
2022 — Collaborations/ Oliver Mark, Guardini Stiftung, Berlin, Germany
2019 — Transverse Wave, me Collectors Room Berlin / Olbricht Collection, Berlin, Germany
2017 — Convergence: Royal Bridges, Ritz Carlton, Dubai, UAE
2013 — In Dialogue, The Waterline Gallery, Kingdom of Bahrain
2026 — Art Basel, Sapar Contemporary, Basel, Switzerland
2026 — Basel Africa Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland
2026 — Scottsdale Arts Week, De Musson, Arizona, USA
2026 — BRAFA Art Fair, Boon Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
2025 — Abu Dhabi Art Fair, Sapar Contemporary, UAE
2025 — Vienna fair, Mario Mauroner Contemporary, Salzburg, Austria
2025 — The Armory Show, De Buck Gallery, New York, USA
2024 — Palm Beach Art Show, Florida, USA
2024 — Westbund Art and Design, Shanghai, China
2024 — LAPADA Art Fair, De Musson, London, UK
2024 — Treasure House Art Fair, De Musson, London, UK
2024 — Art Dubai, Mario Mauroner Gallery, Dubai, UAE
2024 — Art Dusseldorf, Mario Mauroner Gallery, Dusseldorf, Germany
2023 — LAPADA Art Fair, De Musson, London, UK
2023 — Art Dubai, Mario Mauroner Gallery, Dubai, UAE
2023 — Art Genève, Mario Mauroner Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland
2022 — Intersect Aspen, Galerie Gmurzynska, Aspen, Colorado, USA
2022 — Art Brussels, Mario Mauroner Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
2022 — Art Dusseldorf, Mario Mauroner Gallery, Dusseldorf, Germany
2021 — SCOPE International Contemporary Art Show, Miami Beach, Miami, USA
2021 — Contemporary Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
2019 — Contemporary Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
2014 — WWALA, Los Angeles, USA
2014 — Art Dubai, UAE
2013 — Zurich Art Fair, Switzerland
2013 — Abu Dhabi Art, UAE
2013 — Art Dubai, UAE
2012 — Abu Dhabi Art, UAE
2012 — Beirut Art Fair, Lebanon
2016 — 15/15, Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Center, Muharraq, Bahrain
2016 — Views, Ritz Carlton, Bahrain
2014 — Bahrain, Asilah Arts & Culture Forum, Morocco
2013 — Bahrain Contemporary Art, Russian Academy, Moscow, Russia
1996 — Europe Art Festival, Geneva, Switzerland
1996 — Bahrain Artists Exhibition, Rome, Italy
1996 — Sharjah Biennial, UAE
1995 — Hotel Du Rhône, Geneva, Switzerland
1995 — World Trade Center, Lausanne, Switzerland
1989 — Bahrain Arts Society Exhibition, Cairo, Egypt
1988 — Festival of Asian Artists, Malaysia
Dr. Helmut Marko Collection, Linz, Austria
Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Baku, Azerbaijan
Bahrain National Museum, Manama, Bahrain
Jamal Fakhro Collection, Manama, Bahrain
Nikolai Nedeltchev Collection, Sofia, Bulgaria
Momchil Mondeshki Collection, Sofia, Bulgaria
Khaled Samawi Collection, Dubai, UAE
Claude Lemand ‘Tondo’ Collection, Paris, France
Zurab Tseretseli Museum of Modern Art, Tbilisi, Georgia
Aksenov Family Foundation, Moscow, Russia
Victoria Hristoff Collection, New York, USA
