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Arman Stepanyan is an Iranian contemporary graphic designer and photographer, born in 1956 in Abadan. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran and emerged as a prominent figure of his generation in the 1980s through his participation in the first editions of the Iran Graphic Design Biennial. Receiving the Special Jury Diploma at both the First and Second Iran Graphic Design Biennials in 1987 and 1989 firmly established his position in the field of graphic design. From the late 1990s onward, Stepanyan shifted his primary focus to photography. He gained professional recognition through his photographic project documenting the gravestones of the Armenian Cemetery of Sorkhab (Sar-Asiab-e Dolab) in 1999. His approach to photography is fundamentally documentary and grounded in historical inquiry, a perspective that culminated in the research-based exhibition A Glimpse into Iran’s History: Armenians of Iran Through the Lens. This project, comprising 110 photographs dating from the Qajar period onward, was exhibited at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art and stands as a significant example of the intersection of archive, identity, and image in his practice. Stepanyan has held numerous solo exhibitions in Iran and internationally, including in Tehran, Luxembourg, and Dubai, and has participated in major group exhibitions and art events in cities such as Paris, Chicago, and Berlin. His works occupy a space between artistic photography, visual historiography, and reflections on identity, contributing an important chapter to the visual narrative of contemporary Iranian art.
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Solo Exhibitions
2002 – Seyhoun Gallery, Tehran
2002 – Sofitel Gallery, Luxembourg
2004 – Silk Road Gallery, Tehran
2010 – Sofitel Gallery, Luxembourg
2011 – Art History Series, Homa Gallery, Tehran
2012 – Condensed Series, Etemad Gallery, Dubai
2020 – Roots of the Sky, Etemad Gallery, Tehran
Group Exhibitions
1987 – First Iran Graphic Design Biennial Exhibition, Tehran
2000 – Iranian Perspective, Electra Gallery, Paris Museum, France
2007 – Persian Perspectives: Contemporary Iranian Photography
2009 – Iran Inside Out, DePaul Museum, Chicago
2014 – Fourth of May, Seyhoun Gallery, Tehran
2015 – World-Seen, Ygrec Art Studio, Tehran
2017 – Sales Gallery, Tehran
2017 – Amordad, Afrand Gallery, Tehran
2017 – 96+, Afrand Gallery, Tehran
2018 – Amordad, Afrand Gallery, Tehran
2018 – Sixth International Art for Peace Festival, Mellat Cineplex, Tehran
2018 – 96+, Afrand Gallery, Tehran
2018 – Documentary Thinking, Afrand Gallery, Tehran
2018 – Painting Exhibition, Shokooh Gallery, Tehran
2018 – Independent Gallery Art, Afrand Gallery, Tehran
2018 – Experiences at Minus Three, Etemad Gallery (Negarestan), Tehran
2019 – A Few Days in Between, Nabshi Center, Tehran
2019 – Recording Iran’s Visual Past, Pergamon Museum, Berlin
2019 – Recording the Art of Iran’s Past Photography, Pergamon Museum, Berlin
2021 – Selections from a Private Collection, Artibition Gallery, Tehran
2021 – I Am, What I See, Mojdeh Gallery, Tehran
2021 – Primary Matter, Gallery A, Tehran
2021 – This Pencil Is Colored, Javid Gallery, Tehran
2021 – Half, Sharif Gallery, Tehran
2022 – Woman (online exhibition), Artibition Gallery
2023 – In Honor of Lee Majiner, Yafteh Gallery, Tehran
2025 – That Beloved Object…, Sheydaei Gallery, Tehran
Awards and Honors
1987 – Special Jury Diploma, First Iran Graphic Design Biennial
1989 – Special Jury Diploma, Second Iran Graphic Design Biennial
2005 – Honorary Diploma, Art Photography Festival, Niavaran Cultural Center, Tehran
