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Abbas Kowsari, a press photographer and contemporary artist, was born in 1969 in Tehran. He began his professional career in the early 1990s, collaborating with newspapers such as Tehran Times, Jame’e, Entekhab, Sobh-e Emrooz, Zan, and Jame Jam, quickly establishing himself as a prominent figure in Iranian press photography. Since the late 2000s, Kowsari has maintained an active presence in the international art scene. He has held solo exhibitions at Aran Gallery in Tehran, Nicolas Silin Gallery in Paris, and Bankside Gallery in London. His works have also been featured in numerous group exhibitions at major institutions and galleries across San Francisco, Vienna, Paris, New York, London, Turin, and Los Angeles. Kowsari has participated in important art fairs and events including Unseen Photo Fair (Amsterdam), Art Paris, and MIA Art Fair (Milan). His photographs have been published in leading international publications such as Time, The New York Times, Der Spiegel, and Paris Match. In 2009, he was nominated for the prestigious Prix Pictet and was a finalist for the Magic of Persia Contemporary Art Prize in London. His works have also been featured in key publications, including One Hundred Years of Urban Landscape Photography in Tehran (2020) and the first and second editions of the Kaveh Golestan Annual Press Photo Award (2003, 2004).
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Education
1988 – Diploma, Shariati High School, Tehran
Professional Experience (Press Photography)
1994 – Photographer, Tehran Times
1997 – Photographer, Jame’e Newspaper
1998 – Photographer, Entekhab Newspaper
1998 – Photographer, Sobh-e Emrooz Newspaper
1998 – Photographer, Zan Newspaper
2000 – Photographer, Jame Jam Newspaper
Solo Exhibitions
2008 – Shadow of Water / Shadow of Earth, Aran Gallery, Tehran
2012 – Light, Nicolas Silin Gallery, Paris
2012 – Light, Aran Gallery, Tehran
2015 – Wapping Project, Bankside Gallery, London
Selected Group Exhibitions
2002 – Contemporary Iranian Photographers, Assar Art Gallery, Tehran
2003 – Portraits, French Embassy, Damascus
2004 – Muslims, Parc de la Villette, Paris
2009
One Day: A Collective Narrative of Tehran, San Francisco
Promise of Loss, Vienna
Iran 1979–2009, Musée Maillol, Paris
Iran Unveiled, Chelsea Art Museum, New York
2010
Positive View, Somerset House, London
Iran: White or Black, Turin
Promise of Loss, New York
Inclination, Breda Photo Festival, Netherlands
2011
A Good City for Dreamers, Paris
My Superhero, Los Angeles
2012
Light from the Middle East: New Photography, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Post Pop, Mah Mehr Gallery, Tehran
2013
Sacred Paths, Contemporary Art Platform, Kuwait
Contemporary Iranian Photography, California State University Art Gallery, Los Angeles
Burnt Generation, Somerset House, London
2014
Burnt Generation, Founders Gallery, Calgary
Islamic Art Now, LACMA, Los Angeles
2016
Small Image, Big Reflection, A.G. Gallery, Tehran
2017
Small Image, Big Reflection, A.G. Gallery, Tehran
2018
Art for Peace Festival, Pardis Mellat, Tehran
2019
Historical Uses, Seattle
40-50-60, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran
Inertia, Force and the Second Revolution, Tehran
2024
Forty-Thirty, Artibition Gallery, Tehran
Art Fairs
2015 – Unseen Photo Fair, Amsterdam
2018 – Tehran Art Fair (Tir Art), Tehran
2020 – Art Paris, Paris
2023 – MIA Art Fair, Milan
2024 – MIA Art Fair, Milan
Awards & Honors
2009 – Nominee, Prix Pictet, Paris
2009 – Finalist, Magic of Persia Contemporary Art Prize, London
2009 – Participant, Musée du Quai Branly Photography Biennial, Paris
