Sharif Bey

Place: Pittsburgh

Born: 1974

Biography:

Sharif Bey is an African American artist, ceramicist, and professor born in 1974 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He produces functional pottery as well as ceramic and mixed-media sculptures using various forms and textures. His body of work reflects his interest in the visual heritage of Africa and Oceania and contemporary African American culture. Bey is known for his colorful large-scale bead sculptures that explore the cultural and political significance of ornamentation and adornment.