Sharif Bey

As a high school student, Bey completed a ceramics apprenticeship at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild. The Manchester Craftsmen's Guild played a formative role for Bey throughout his teens, giving him a foundation of skills, extensive ceramics-world connections, and exposure to various visiting masters – including Jun Kaneko, Karen Karnes, Judy Moonelis, Paul Soldner, and Akio Takamori. Shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union, Bey studied sculpture at The Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Bratislava (Slovak Republic). Later, he earned his BFA in ceramics from Slippery Rock University, his MFA in studio art from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and PhD in art education from Pennsylvania State University.[3][4][5][2]

Bey's teaching experience includes appointments at: Winston Salem State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Syracuse University.[5][2] He has held artist residencies at the McColl Center for Art + Innovation, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Pittsburgh Glass Center,[6] and Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts.

His work can be found in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Carnegie Museum of Art, Everson Museum of Art, Hickory Museum of Art, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, and the United States Embassies in Indonesia, Sudan, and Uganda.[7][8][9]

His work has been exhibited at:

• Sharif Bey: Excavations (2021–2022) Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh[10][11]
• Adorned (2020) McColl Center for Art and Innovation[12]
• Pittsburgh Anthology (2019–2020) Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh[13]
• Disrupting Craft: Renwick Invitational (2018–2019)[14] at the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery
• Sharif Bey: Dialogues in Clay and Glass (2018)[4] at the Pittsburgh Glass Center