Shahram Karimi
Shahram Karimi, Born in 1957
Filmmaker, Painter, Production Designer
Shiraz-Iran
Has lived and worked in Germany and New York since 1988
Shahram Karimi is a self-taught artist who has achieved success both in the West and in his native country. Iran, Turkey, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Switzerland are just a few of the countries where Karimi's artwork has been shown.
Solo Exhibitions
2021. Actionhaus.Tehran
2020. Fillings auction. London
2020. Actionhaus Dorotheum
2020. Self- reflection. New York
2020 Actionhaus.Tehran
2019 I lost myself somewhere, Gallery Etemad Tehran-Iran
2019 PINK Dreams in a Land with no Name, Gallery Elga Wimmer New
York
2019 Actionhaus.Tehran
2017 The Garden is My Skin, Kunsthaus Troisdorf, Germany
2017 The Garden is My Skin, Kunsthaus Troisdorf, Germany
2016 The Cold Earth Sleeps Below (in Collaboration with Shoja Azari),
Leila Heller Gallery, New York, United States
2015 Remembrance, Syra Arts, Washington
2015 Remembrance, Gallery Syra, Washington D.C., United States
2015 Longing for Myself, Brigitte Schenk Gallery, Germany
2015 Open the Door, Kunsthaus Troisdorf, Germany
2014 The Rose Garden of Remembrance, Mah Art Gallery, Tehran
2013 Magic of Light, Mana Contemporary, Jersey city, NJ USA
2011 The Rose Garden of Remembrance, Leila Hella Gallery, New York
2010 Museum Siegburg, Germany
2008 Brigitte Schenk Gallery, Cologne, Germany
2008 Gallery Leo Castelli, New York, USA
2006 Gallery II Gabbiano, Rome, Italy
2006 Art Basel Galerie Marco Noire, San Sebastiano / Turin, Italy
2005 Kölner Stadt Anzeiger, Cologne, Germany
2004 Studio Shirin Neshat in New York, USA
2001 Pumpwerk, Siegburg, Germany
1998 Museum Siegburg, Germany
1987 Gallery Taehr, Shiraz, Iran
1981/86 Gallery Wesal, Shiraz, Iran
Group Exhibitions
2018 Azad Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2018 The World is My Home, ADVOCARTSY, LA. USA
2018 Art Cologne, Brigitte Schenk Gallery, Cologne, Germany
2016 Art Cologne, Brigitte Schenk Gallery, Cologne, Germany
2015 Abu Dhabi Art, Brigitte Schenk Gallery, Cologne, Germany
2014 Look at Me, Leila Heller Gallery, Dubai-UAE
2014 Art Fair Dubai, UAE
2012 The Elephant in the Dark, Devi Art Foundation, India
2012 Magic of Persia, Dubai, UAE
2011 The Mask & The Mirror, curated by Shirin Neshat, Leila Heller Gallery
Art Dubai,
2010 Brigitte Schenk Gallery, Art Cologne Germany
2010 Art Dubai, Dubai, UAE
2009 Chelsea Art Museum, New York, USA
2009 Art Cologne, Germany
2008 Art Dubai, Dubai, UAE
2008 Gallery Taginia, New York, USA
2007 Art Fair Miami, USA
2007 Art Fair Bologna, Italy
2006 Museum Las Palma (CAAM), Spain
2004 ART20 The International Art Fair New York, USA
2003 "Poetic Justice", the 8th International Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, Turkey
2000 Gallery of Contemporary Arts in Pancevo, Yugoslavia
2000 "25 Years of Separation", Iranian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, USA
1999 Kunstverein Aschaffenburg, Germany
1997/2000/2001 Grosse Kunstausstellung NRW, Düsseldorf, Germany
1994 Kunstforum Bonn, Germany
1979 Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran, Iran
1976 Gallery Takhte Jamshid, Tehran, Ira
Film Productions
Shahram Karimi has collaborated with the visual artist/filmmaker, Shirin Neshat as the key production designer for the following films:
2012 "Desert Dancer" Richard Raymond
2010 “To Be and Not To Be” Filmmaker Nederland/Frank Schaffer
2008 "The White Meadow" Iran/Mohammad Rasoulof
2007 "Women Without Men"
2003-‐05 Feature length film "Women Without Men", shot in Morocco
2002-‐04 “Logic of the Birds”, a multi-‐media performance, USA and European tour
2003 “The Last Word”, Shot in New York
2002 “Tooba”, Shot in Mexico
2001 “Passage", "Possessed", "Pulse", Shot in Morocco, Film “K” in the US
2000 “Fervor", shot in Morocco
1999 "Soliloquy", shot in Turkey
"Under the Sun" Pasoulini film production, shot in Egypt
Shahram Karimi has also been the production designer for American filmmaker Shoja Azari in several of his productions, including his feature length film "K" (2002) and "Windows" (2006)
Awards;
2009 Golden Lion for Women without Men
Special Jury Prize Award Dubai Film Festival
The White Meadows, Mohammad Rasoulof
1997 First Prize “Art Price” Rhein-‐Siege V, Germany
Shirin Neshat On the Works of Shahram Karimi
‘In an era when Globalism has become an integral aspect of the postmodern man’s experience, the Iranian born artist, Shahram Karimi, living in Germany, truly represents such trans-cultural currents and realties in the context of contemporary art. His aspirations are at once rooted in his personal cultural history such as the traditional Persian Miniature paintings, his subsequent life in exile and exposure to the history of abstract, minimal and conceptual art of the West. Karimi has arrived at a unique form which combines both aspects of seemingly diverse cultures in an artistic language which transcends the boundaries of such localities.
Karimi’s paintings follow the same principals as those of classical Persian Miniature paintings, mainly in respect to the absence of perspective. The use of narrative elements and inscription of text over imagery and his minimal abstractions of visual iconography bind him to Western art.
Poetry plays a major role in Karimi’s creative vocabulary. He expands on the rich tradition of poetry which has been recognized as the most vital aspect of Iranian culture. As a poet, in an unprecedented way, he incorporates verbal and visual metaphors in parallel forms to provoke and express distinct emotions.
In his exploration into the realm of media, Karimi makes a video which in my view becomes an extension of his paintings and poetry. In this video, shot in Egypt, the artist offers a new experience for the viewer. One senses an obscure travel through Karimi’s paintings. The strength lies in the ultra-simplicity, raw and casual use of camera to capture the aura of the spaces that he encounters. There is an immediate emotional response to these spaces that suggests the notion of ‘absence’ of human body and the presence of a ‘place’ which remains.
Karimi’s most recent adventure into installation art is yet another poetic gesture with deeply humanistic and political edge, treated with the same level of abstraction and modesty. Here portraits of ‘shoes’ become reminiscent of the ‘absence’ of the physical body. This work suggests a new direction for a ‘global’ artist who is seeking a delicate balance between Persian aesthetics and Western expression to arrive at an art which becomes truly universal.’
Shirin Neshat
View his collection of artworks here