Frieze London 2023: Group Presentation

Reza Aramesh (b. 1970, Iran) focuses on photography and sculpture. He currently lives and works in London, a city he moved to at the age of 15. He received his MFA from Goldsmiths University, London (1997).

Working in photography, sculpture, video and performance, Reza Aramesh’s understanding of the history of art, film and literature is ever-present in his artwork. As a response to war reportage images from sources such as newspapers, online articles and social media, Aramesh takes scenes of reportage of violence out of their original context, exploring the narratives of representation and iconography of subjected body apropos race, class, and sexuality to create a critical conversation with Western Art History.

Reza Aramesh exhibitions: the 14 Bienal de la Habana (Havana, 2022) | Muntref Centro De Arte Contemporåneo (Buenos Aires, 2022) | Pejman Foundation (Argo Factory, Tehran, 2022) | the 9th Edition of Sculpture in the City (London, 2021) | Fitzwilliam Museum (Cambridge, 2020) | Asia Society Museum (New York, 2021) | Met Breuer (New York, 2018) | SCAD Museum (Georgia, Atlanta, 2018) | Akademie der Kunst (Berlin, 2016) | the 56th Venice Biennale (2015) | Art Basel Parcours (Basel, 2017) | Frieze Sculpture Park (London, 2015 and 2017) | Maxxi Museum (Rome, 2016). He has organized a number of performances and exhibitions in such spaces as at Barbican Art Centre, Tate Britain and ICA, London. His works have entered public and private collections worldwide.

Meghdad Lorpour (b. 1983, Shiraz, Iran) is a painter based in Tehran. He studied painting at Shahed University, Tehran (2010).

Throughout his career, Meghdad’s subject matter has ranged from portraiture to landscape and still life, and his analytical approach to every aspect of his work has constantly evolved. He begins with a multi-layered phase of research, which includes deep dives into related literature, travel, documentation, and recording oral histories. He continues by exploring his recollections of the research process as sketches and experiments in technique and representation. After his early focus on portraiture, inspired by Persian mythology and Miniature Painting, Lorpour soon shifted towards looking at animals in their natural habitats, contextualizing them in his research on mythological history. More recently, he has focused on nature — landscapes and the different aspects of the natural environment. The artist has been meticulously looking at nature through specific points of view and has sought to induce inner mythological layers to his settings while depicting natural scenery.

Meghdad Lorpor's work has been exhibited in five solo exhibitions, including the Iranian Artists' Forum (Tehran, Iran 2006); Mah Art Gallery (Tehran, Iran, 2010); "Callus" (Mah Art Gallery. Tehran, Iran, 2013) "Tangab" Electric Room. (Dastan:Outside, Tehran, Iran, 2017) "Daryabar" (Dastan+2. Tehran, Iran 2018); as well as over twenty group exhibitions and international art fair presentations.

Farah Ossouli (b. 1953, Zanjan, Iran) is a painter working and living in Tehran. She received her BA in Graphic Design from the University of Tehran, where she taught between 1972 and 1987. She founded DENA, a female art collective that has organized over 30 exhibitions since 2001. She is a member of the Society of Iranian Painters.

Farah Ossouli achieved a unique fusion of techniques, materials, themes, and narrations during her forty-year career as an artist. She has been a pioneer in introducing contemporary themes and ideas into miniature painting. The latest collections of Farah Ossouli are based on classical European paintings (by Delacroix, Goya, David, Manet, Titan, Rembrandt, and Ingres, among others), chosen by the artist based on their historical and conceptual relevance vis-à-vis the manifestation of violence in our world today. By transforming the medium (Persian painting) and figures (female holding the torch), Farah Ossouli is presenting the viewer with a new way of looking at the events taking place around us.

Farah Ossouli's solo exhibitions are "Wounded Virtue" (Dastan +2, 2016) | Shirin Gallery (New York, USA, 2014) | Paul Robeson Galleries (Rutgers University, Newark, USA, 2012) | Imam Ali Museum (Tehran, 2007) | Ludwig Museum (Koblenz, Germany, 2005). Group exhibitions are “Mossavar-Name” (Dastan’s Basement and +2, Tehran, 2018) | and “Mossavar-Name” (Art Dubai, Dubai, 2018). Her works are held at major public collections including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Devi Art Foundation, New Delhi; Tropen Museum, Amsterdam; Ludwig Museum, Koblenz, Germany, and Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran, Iran.