Faris Alshafar (b. 1995, Dubai, UAE) is an Emirati artist based between Dubai and New York City. A self- taught artist, Alshafar’s practice is shaped by music and other time-bound sensory experiences. His works, rooted in rhythmic mark-making and layered abstraction, explore memory as a self-contained universe. Through glyph-like symbols and sonic landscapes, he investigates philosophical themes such as determinism, transforming personal and impersonal experiences into immersive visual arrangements.
Alshafar recently participated in The Rhythm of Existence, Aisha Alabbar Gallery, Art Dubai, Dubai, UAE (2025); Art Düsseldorf, Bawa Gallery, Düsseldorf, Germany (2025); and Narratives of Belonging, Dubai Culture, Al Safa Art and Design Library, Dubai, UAE (2024). From 2021 to 2024, he curated Jubilee, a three-year exhibition marking the UAE’s 50th anniversary at the Permanent Mission of the UAE to the United Nations, in collaboration with the Barjeel Art Foundation (2021–2024).
His work is part of several notable collections, including the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Permanent Mission of the UAE to the United Nations, New York City; the UAE Consulate, New York City; and the Abu Dhabi Executive Office.
Alshafar holds a Master’s in Arts & Cultural Management from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, USA (2021), and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from the American University in Dubai, UAE (2017).