Faris Alshafar: Everybody Changes Underwater at Aisha Alabbar Gallery, Dubai — 16 Nov 2026–6 Jan 2027

Faris Alshafar, Everybody Changes Underwater, oil painting exhibition visual, Aisha Alabbar Gallery, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, 2026

Aisha Alabbar Gallery presents “Everybody Changes Underwater”, the first solo exhibition by Emirati artist Faris Alshafar, opening during Alserkal Art Week. The new oil paintings mark his move from monochrome into colour. Drawing on music, video games and everyday moments of change, the works are arranged like episodes and look at how people alter their appearance and behaviour in response to desire and expectation. Palettes move from icy to nautical to earthy tones; figures hang like marionettes in structural negative space, among glyph-like marks that recall shells, clock hands and candles.

Exhibition Faris Alshafar: Everybody Changes Underwater
Artist(s) Faris Alshafar (b. 1995, UAE; based in Dubai and New York)
Gallery Aisha Alabbar Gallery (Alserkal Avenue, Dubai)
Exhibition type Solo exhibition (the artist’s first) — painting, oil on canvas
Dates 16 November 2026 – 6 January 2027 (closing date per Alserkal Avenue; the gallery page states “January 2027”). Opening reception: not published — check with the gallery
Address Warehouse C-19, Alserkal Avenue, 17th Street, Al Quoz Industrial Area 1, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Opening hours Monday–Saturday 10:00–18:00; closed on public holidays
Phone +971 4 344 7747
Email [email protected]
Gallery website aishaalabbar.art
Official exhibition page Aisha Alabbar Gallery — Everybody Changes Underwater · Alserkal Avenue listing
Artist page Faris Alshafar at Aisha Alabbar Gallery
Social media Gallery: Instagram @aisha_alabbar_gallery · Facebook. Artist accounts not verified — check with the gallery.

Open the gallery location in Google Maps

Read the Art Fair analysis

Our in-depth article on this exhibition explores Alshafar’s turn to colour and his “episodic” approach to painting. For more openings in Istanbul, Ankara, London, Paris, Spain, Dubai and the United States, see Upcoming Art Exhibitions in Leading Galleries.

Cover image: Faris Alshafar, Everybody Changes Underwater, exhibition visual. © the artist. Courtesy the artist and Aisha Alabbar Gallery. Details are taken from the official Aisha Alabbar Gallery exhibition and contact pages and the Alserkal Avenue programme; please confirm hours with the gallery before visiting.