Esmaël Bahrani is an Iranian artist. Born in 1978
Esmaël Bahrani is an Iranian artist. Born in 1978, he entered the Tehran University of Art and Architecture but quickly turns away from the dogmatism of the school to pursue his own path. He discovered graffiti in the early 2000s through Western press. Fascinated by this art of libertarian essence, he began to paint at night under cover in different cities of Iran.
Alongside his nocturnal expeditions, the artist also works in a workshop. Similar to shouts, his powerful works denounce the oppression of an theocratic regime and the lack of freedom of a rebellious youth. He’s also free using techniques, moving from drawing to painting, mixing the aerosol can and the brush,covering his canvases with wax to better scratch them and make tortured characters appear in a chaotic environment. In 2005, he presented for the first time some paintings in a group exhibition at the Azad Art Gallery in Tehran. His career has been launched. In 2012, his solo exhibition at the Dastan Gallery in Tehran was a success.
In 2007 he came to France for the first time. Invited by the artist Hervé di Rosa, he showed his work at the MIAM (International Museum of Modest Arts) as part of a collective exhibition. He was the only artist from the Middle East to exhibit at the “Tag au Grand Palais” exhibition in 2009. Invited by the Institut du Monde Arabe in the spring of 2015, he took his chance. Tired of repression and threats against him, he decided to leave Iran to come to France. As he took refuge in Paris, he now develops his art where Middle East and West, ancestral myths and underground culture, outsider art and street art collide.
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"resonances"
Artist residency by Esmaël Bahrani September 13 - October 12, 2024Five paintings and drawings are the result of this project. The artist was inspired by a desire for resonance. Shouting to leave an echo. On these canvases, some sandblasted, a...Read more -
WHITE FLAG
12 YEARS OF MACADAM'S HISTORY. April 20 - May 11, 2024White Flag is an ode to Macadam's 12 years of existence. A retrospective on more than a decade of creativity. Just like a blank canvas, it is a symbol of...Read more -
ZENDEGI
By Esmaël Bahrani February 2 - March 3, 2023BiographyRead more
Esmaël Bahrani is an Iranian artist born in 1978. He studied at the University of Art and Architecture in Tehran where he practiced graffiti as well as painting. He has exhibited in several galleries such as Azad Art and Dastan Gallery in Tehran, the Musée International des Arts Modestes (MIAM) in Sète and the Berthéas Gallery in Paris.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2019
Dans le vif, galerie Berthéas, Paris (solo show)
Festival No Frontiers, Cité des Arts, Paris
Ordre et désordre, 100 ECS, Paris
2018
Art Elysées Art Fair, Paris
Art Up Art Fair, Lille (solo show)
2017
De Téhéran à Paris, Galerie Berthéas, Vichy (solo show)
2016
Regards croisés avec Esmaël Bahrani, Musée & Jardins Cécile Sabourdy,
Vicq-sur-Breuilh
Sans le regard de l’autre, Carreau de Cergy, Cergy
2015
Espace Albatros, Paris
Performance, Association le M.U.R., Paris
2012
Dastan Gallery, Téhéran (solo show)
2011
Homa Gallery, Téhéran
2009
Takesh Gallery, Isfahan
TAG, Grand Palais, Paris
2007
Graffiti Stories, MIAM de Sète, Abbaye d’Auberives
et Musée Paul Valéry de Sète
2005
Azad Art Gallery, Téhéran (solo show)
Aban Gallery, Téhéran
1994
Kosar Gallery, Isfahan