Bey's work featured in Smithsonian art exhibition

Feb. 11, 2019

Sharif Bey, a 1998 Slippery Rock University graduate with a degree in art, is a featured artist for Disrupting Craft: Renwick Invitational, a six-month art exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C.

The exhibition, which runs through May 5, presents the work of four emerging artists who challenge the conventional definitions of craft to disrupt the status quo and promote collective engagement through their handmade works inspired by social justice, cultural identities and historical narratives. Bey's functional and sculptural pieces of pottery use a variety of forms and textures to reflect his interest in the visual heritage of Africa and Oceania, as well as contemporary African American culture.

Bey, a Beltzhoover native, is an associate professor of art at Syracuse University.