Born in 1963 in Shiraz, Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Lives and works between Tehran, Iran and Paris, France
Farhad Moshiri’s mixed-media practice spans painting, assemblage, and sculpture. Inspired by pop art and conceptualism, he has developed a profoundly hybrid aesthetics at the crossroads of the Middle East and the West. While he usually draws his motifs from American consumer culture (comics, advertising, pop music), he reinterprets them through equally clichéd traditional Persian craftsmanship. His embrace of delicate ornamental techniques, ranging from hand embroidery to calligraphy, offers an ironic and powerful contrast to his otherwise lowbrow visual references. His signature use of sparkly materials (beads, glitter, diamonds) further creates a palpable tension between the primarily figurative quality of his works and their inclination toward pure embellishment. Beneath its humorous and light appearance, Moshiri’s oeuvre takes on a slightly subversive dimension by touching upon his native country’s current transformation.
education
1984
- MFA, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California, USA
solo shows
2018
- First Snow, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
2017
- Snow Forest, Galerie Perrotin, New York, USA
- The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, USA
2014
- Float, Galerie Perrotin, New York, USA
2013
- Galerie Perrotin, Hong Kong
- Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium
2012
- The Fire of Joy, Galerie Perrotin, Paris
2011
- Shukran, The Third Line, Dubai
- Louis Vuitton commissioned works, Louis Vuitton UAE Stores, Dubai, UAE
2010
- Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg
2009
- Galerie Perrotin, Paris
2008
- Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels
- Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium
- Galerie Perrotin, Art Basel Miami, USA
2007
- Daneyal Mahmood Gallery, Chelsea NY
- CANDY STORE, The Third Line Gallery, Dubai
2006
- Threshold of Hap, e x t r a s p a z i o, Rome
- Albareh Gallery, Bahrain
- Operation Supermarket, with Shirin Aliabadi, The Counter Gallery, London
- Operation Supermarket, with Shirin Aliabadi, Kolding Design School, Copenhagen
- The Third Line Gallery, Dubai
2004
- e x t r a s p a z i o, Rome
- Art Space Gallery, curated by Isabelle Van Den Eynde De Rivieren, Dubai
- Kashya Hildebrand Gallery, New York
2003
- Kashya Hildebrand Gallery, Geneva
- Leighton House Museum, curated by Rose Issa, London
2002
- 13 Vanak Street Gallery, Tehran
2001
- Heaven,13 Vanak Street Gallery, Tehran
2000
- 13 Vanak Street Gallery, Tehran
- 1992 Seyhoun Gallery, Tehran, Iran
group shows
2014
- One way : Peter Marino, Bass Museum of Art, Miami, United States.
2013
- Happy Birthday Galerie Perrotin / 25ans, TRIPOSTAL, Lille, France
- Love Me/ Love Me Not, Contemporary Art from Azerbaijan and its Neighbors, The 55th
- International Art Exhibition, Venice Biennale,Venice, Italy
- DISASTER, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris-Pantin
2012
- ARTandPRESS, Martin Gropius-Bau, Berlin
2011
- How I Learned to Stop Fearing and Love Exotic Art, JAMM Art, Kuwait
- The World Belongs to You, François Pinault Collection, Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy
2009
- Raad O Bargh, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris
- Iran Inside Out, Chelsea Art Museum, New York
2007
- Art without borders, Tehran Gallery, University of Tehran, Iran
- Neighbours in Dialogue, Feshane cultural center, curated by Beral Madra, Istanbul, Turkey
2006
- Iran.com, Museum of New Art, Freiburg, Germany
- Images of the Middle East, Copenhagen, Danmark
- Art without Borders, Armenian Centre for Contemporary Experimental Art, Yerevan, Armenia
- V-Day, Kashya Hildebrand Gallery, New York, USA
- Word into Art. Artists of the Modern Middle East, curated by Venetia Porter, British Museum, London, United Kingdom
- Ethnic Marketing, 13 Vanak Street Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2005
- After the Revolution, curated by Octavio Zaya, KM Kulturunea Erakustaretoa, San Sebastian, Spain;
- Quasi niente / almost nothing, E x t r a s p a z i o, Rome, Italy
- Welcome, curated by Farhad Moshiri, Kashya Hildebrand Gallery, New York, USA
2004-2005
- It’s Hard to Touch the Real, Kunstverein, Munich, Germany,
- Tallinn Kunsthalle, Tallinn, Estonie
- Unge Kunstnerers Samfund UKS (The Association of Young Artists), Oslo, Norway
- Yeans (artist-run-space), Gothenburg, Sweden
- Bildmuseet Umeå, University College of Fine Arts, Umeå, Sweden
2004
- Entfernte Nähe, curated by Rose Issa, House of World Cultures, Berlin, Germany
- Iran under the Skin, curated by Firouz Firouz, CCCB, Barcelona, Spain
- Ethnic Marketing, curated by Martine Anderfuhren e Tirdad Zolghadr, Centre d'Art Contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland
- Turning Points, curated by Media Farzin, LeRoy Neiman Gallery, Columbia University, New York, USA
2003
- Iranian Pool, curated by Maria Chus Martinez, Casa Asia/ARCO, Madrid, Spain
- Sharjah Biennial, Sharjah, UAE, United Arab Emirated
- Rooseum Center for Contemporary Art, Malmo, Sweden
- Continuous Stroke of a Breath, curated by Afsaneh Firouz, Harvard University, Boston, USA
- Haft, curated by Michket Krifa, l’Espace Landowski, Ville de Boulogne- Billancourt, France
1993
- Tehran Biennial, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran, Iran
