ABOUT

ALI HALANE

Ali Halane, a native of Somalia, came to the United States in 1984.  He received his B.S. in Art from Lincoln University in 1990 and his M.F.A (Master of Fine Arts) from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1994. He taught art at State Fair Community College [Sedalia, MO] and at Lincoln University [Jefferson City, MO]. He currently resides in Sedalia, MO and has lived there since 1986. His works have won numerous awards—including the top prize at the State Fair Top 50 Exhibition in 1994—and have been exhibited throughout Missouri and Kansas. He was a recipient of the D.R. Francis Fellowship at the University of Missouri-Columbia and the 1990 recipient of the James D. Parks Award for Excellence in Art at Lincoln University. Halane's artwork has been in numerous private collections, and is in the permanent collections of Daum Museum of Contemporary Art and the Margaret Harwell Art Museum. 

Halane's work is greatly inspired by shapes derived from organic forms. He also draws inspiration from traditional African ceramics. He is influenced by objects that he find interesting or encounters coincidentally — i.e. fossils, seeds, shells and rocks. Sometimes, these shapes have mysterious and inexplicable structures that are bewildering and enigmatic in nature.  Additionally, he has a strong interest in figurative and abstract works. With that framework in mind, he approaches these shapes in a manner that doesn’t compromise the integrity and originality of the objects.  He enjoys integrating his past experiences and new experiences when creating his artwork.