He was born in Kuwait. Lives and works in Sharjah, UAE. 

EDUCATION 

1989

Master of Arts, Photography, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

1985

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Photography, New York University, New York, USA.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2004-Present

Associate Professor of Photography, American University of Sharjah, School of Architecture and Design, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

1998-June 2004

Assistant Professor of Photography, American University of Sharjah, School of Architecture and Design, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

1994-1996

Photography Instructor, Blake Art College, London, UK.

1991

Photography Instructor, American University of Cairo, Cairo, Egypt.

EXHIBITIONS (SELECTED)

2011

‘Tarek Al-Ghoussein. E-Series’, Kalfayan Galleries, Athens.

2010

‘Tarek Al-Ghoussein. E-Series’: PhotoBiennale 2010 – 21st International Photography Meeting. Venue: Yeni Tzami. Organised by the Museum of Photography of Thessaloniki.  Exhibition held in collaboration with Kalfayan Galleries.

‘Tarek Al-Ghoussein. A Retrospective – Works from 2001 to 2010’, Sharjah Art Museum, Sharjah, UAE.

2009

‘Disorientation II’ (curated by Jack Persekian), Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi.

53^rd Venice Biennale, UAE Pavillion, Venice.

In Absentia, Galerie Brigitte Schenk, Cologne, Germany.

Kalfayan Galleries, Athens, Greece.

The Third Line Gallery, Dubai, UAE.

2008

Reorientations, European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium.

Never Part, Beaux Arts, Brussels, Belgium.

First Brussels Biennale.

Wonder, Singapore Biennale, Singapore.

Roads were open/Roads were closed, The Third Line Gallery, Dubai, UAE.

Blue Diptych, Jerusalem Show, Al Maamal Foundation, Jerusalem, Palestine.

New Ends, Old Beginnings Blue Coat, Liverpool, UK.

Dubai Next, Vitra Design Museum (Zaha Hadid Fire Station) Weil um Rhein, Germany.

Nimes Museum of Contemporary Art, Nimes, France.

Self Portraits, Around The Coyote Gallery, Chicago.

Self Portrait, A, B, and C Series, Sharjah College of Fine Arts, Sharjah, UAE.

2007

Recognize, London, UK.

Dubai Dubai, Total Art Gallery, Dubai, UAE.

Languages of the Desert, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Art in Public Spaces, Light Boxes, Muscat, Oman.

C Series, XVA Gallery, Dubai, UAE.

Self -Representation, Doha, Qatar.

2006

Ideal City - Invisible Cities, Zamoc, Poland.

Ideal City - Invisible Cities, Potsdam, Germany.

Under the Last Sky, Royal Photography Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Images of the Middle East, Banner, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Political Realities, Heidelberg Museum, Heidelberg, Germany.

Tierra, exilio, CREACIÓN CUENCA, Madrid, Spain.

Al Riwaq, Manama, Bahrain.

Pat Binder's Kollwitz Light Box Project, Berlin, Germany.

Checkpoints, Darat Al Funuun, Amman, Jordan.

Q Arts Gallery, Derby, UK.

Confronting Clichés, McColl Art Center, North Carolina, USA.

Side Gallery, New Castle, UK.

Gallery of Photography, Dublin, Ireland.

Self Portraits, Ifa Gallery, Berlin, Germany &  Nazar, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France.

French International Photo Fest, Damascus, Syria.

2005

Aperture Gallery, New York, USA.

Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Bonn, Germany.

Langhans Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic.

La Boca Gallery, Madrid, Spain.

7^th Sharjah International Biennial, Sharjah, UAE.

Fotofest, Houston, USA.

Ifa Gallery, Stuttgart, Germany.

2004

Sharjah Art Museum, Sharjah, UAE.

Specta Art Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Copenhagen Art Fair, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Noorderlicht International Photography Exhibition, The Netherlands.

Kathie Kollwitz Gallery, Berlin, Germany.

Chobi Mella, International Photography Exhibition, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

2003

Five from Afar, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Randolph Street Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand.

Sharjah International Biennial, Sharjah, UAE.

2002

Sharjah Art Museum, Sharjah, UAE.

2000

Burjuman Center, Dubai, UAE.

Sharjah Art Museum, Sharjah, UAE.

1995

Zwemmers Fine Photographs, London, UK.

1994

Roy Miles Gallery, London, UK.

CITATIONS/PUBLICATIONS/REVIEWS (selection)

2009

Contemporary Art in the Middle East (ed. Paul Sloman), Black Dog Publishing, Ltd., London, 2009, pp.20-21.

‘In Absentia, Photographs by Tarek Al-Ghoussein’, The Third Line, Dubai.

Barka, Fotini, The Head Scarf does not a Terrorist make, Eleftherotypia, 21 January 2009.

Pournara, Margarita, I Stage my own Photographs, I Kathimerini, 1 February 2009.

Argyropoulou, Yiota, Politic(art), Athens Voice, 22-28 January 2009.

Rokou, Tatiana, Photography, Nostalgia and the “Kaffiyeh”, I Naftemboriki, 16 January 2009.

Koukoulas, Yiannis, The Challenge of Prejudices, Pontiki(Art), 22-28 January 2009.

Maragou, Maria, This Superb Nothing,  Eleftherotypia 26 January 2009.

Papaioannou, Herakles, Stereotypes of Terrorism, Fotografos, April 2009, issue 184.

2008

Paytner, November, Catalog, Scenes du Sud II, Nimes, France

Wilson-Goldie, Kaelen, Beautiful Anguish, The National, April 18, 2008.

Messina, Audrey, In The Arab World…Now, Gallerie Enrico Navarra.

Berbiic, Isak, Self Portrait A,B and C Series, Exhibition Catalog.

2007

Messina, Audrey, In the Arab World…Now, Gallery Enrico Navarra, February 2008, pp. 116-119.

Katodrytis, George, C Series, Soura Magazine, Dubai, November 12, 2008, pp. 2-7.

The Economist.com, Eastern Promises, October 20, 2007.

Thompson, Seth, C-Series review, Bidoun Magazine, Summer 2007.

Johnson, Richard, The Walrus, May 2007, Toronto, Canada, pp. 20-21.

Hammam, N, Dubai -Dubai (C-Series), Exhibition catalog, April 2007, pp. 16-17.

Prof. Dr. Ronte, Dieter, Languages of the Desert, Exhibition catalog, March 1, 2007, pp. 80-85.

Thompson, Seth, After Image, Magazine cover and images, March –April 2007, pp. 10-12. Link to interview and images:

http://www.seththompson.info/html/news/al-ghoussein.htm.

Ohla, AlRiwaq, Manama, Bahrain, January, pp. 96-97.

Installations 2006, The Palestinian Diary, January, pp. 27-28, 45-46.

2006

Woodward, Michelle, Photo Review, Middle East Report, Fall 2006, pp. 40-42.

Wilson-Goldie, Kaelen, Ideal City/Invisible Cities, Exhibition catalog, June, pp. 66-71.

Link to Ideal City/Invisible Cities: http://www.idealcity-invisiblecities.org/en/251/.

Dakhlia, J, Des Art En Tensions, (book cover and images), September, pp. 440-443.

Rayyan, A, Going Underground, Canvas, September, pp. 8-9.

Artist of the Month, Virtual Gallery, September: Ramallah, Palestine. Link: http://virtualgallery.birzeit.edu/community_artist_of_the_month?mart_id=140739

Holton, Johan, Political Realities, September 2006, pp.  8-10.

Im Schnee Der Zeichen, Newspaper Rheinpfalz, Germany, September 9, 2006, p.12.

Süddeutsche Zeitung, Heidelburg, Germany, September 10, 2006, p. 9.

Thomas Flierl, Fotografik GalerieKathe Kollwitz, 2006, pp. 95 & 112.

Stereotypes About Us, Soura Magazine, October 2006, pp. 12-17.

Wilson-Goldie, Kaelen, Walls and Checkpoints, Daily Star, Beirut Lebanon, February.

Languages of the Desert, Exhibition Catalog, Museum Of Modern and Contemporary Art, Bonn, Germany, November 2005, p. 80.

2005

Sans Territoire, Liberation, Paris, France, Images and text reproduced, 19 Aug 05, p. 6.

Jensen, Chris, Tarek Al-Ghoussein, Canvas Magazine, July, pp. 112-119.

Daily Star, Beirut, Lebanon, Write up and image reproduction, April, pp. 8-9.

Persekian, Jack, Anywhere But Home, Bidouin, Spring Issue, pp. 38-40.

Houston Chronicle, Texas, USA, April 9, Write up and image reproduction, p. 1.

Nazar: Photographs from the Arab World, Exhibition Catalog, Aperture Gallery, New York, USA, 2004, p. 39.

Kathi Kollwitz Light Box Project, Exhibition Catalog, Kathi Kollwitz, Berlin Germany, December, p. 95.

2004

Nazar: Photographs from the Arab World, Exhibition Catalog, Fries Museum, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands, 2004, p. 39.

Berliner Zeitung, Germany, October 25, Write-up and image reproduction, p. 12-13.

Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany, October 23, Write-up and image reproduction, p. 11.

Khaleej Times, October 18, United Arab Emirates, Write-up and image reproduction.

Gulf News, October 16, United Arab Emirates, interview and image reproduction.

Bem, Merel, deVolkskrant, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, September 4, p. 9.

FOTOGRAFIE, The Netherlands, September, Write-up and image reproduction, p. 79.

2003

Exhibition Catalog:Sharjah International Biennial 6, Sharjah Art Museum, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, pp. 268-9.

Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates, February 18, Write-up and image reproduction, p.12.

Berliner Zeitung, Germany, April 24, Write-up and image reproduction.

Klemm, Tanya, Art in Culture, June, Write-up and images reproduced, p. 131.

New York Times, New York, USA, May 4, p. 1 (Art Section)

Klemm, Tanya, Art Forum, Berlin, Germany, May, p. 18.

Harrison, Pete, Reuters, United Kingdom, Interview with images, August 7, pp. 6-8.

Universes-in-Universe, Berlin, Website (www.universes-in-universe.com).

Kopenhagen-dk, Work and Interview on website, Denmark, (www.kopenhagen.dk)

Politiken, Write-up and image reproduction, Denmark, Sweden, Oct.11, Culturebase.net, Complete professional profile on website (www.culturebase.net).

Turner, Grady, Fast Forward in the Persian Gulf, Art in America, November, p. 87.

2000

Gulf News, United Arab Emirates, May 1, Write-up and image reproduction, p. 11.

TELEVISION INTERVIEWS

2004

Amsterdam VPRO Channel 3, RAM, Interview on Self-Portrait Series.

2003

Denmark Television Channel DR 2 “Best Seller”: Interview on work in the exhibition “Five from Afar”, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Dubai Television: Interview on work in the exhibition “Five from Afar”, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Arte Television Channel (France/Germany): Interview on work exhibited at Sharjah International Biennale.

Sharjah Television: Interview on work exhibited at Sharjah International Biennale.