Maryam Abedi

Maryam Abedi (b. 1986, Tehran) is an Iranian painter and graphic designer. She graduated in Graphic Design from the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, before moving to the United States, where she continued her studies in Painting at the New York Academy of Art. Abedi held her first solo exhibition, Hamnashini (Coexistence), at Iranshahr Gallery in 2017. A year later, she presented Rag-Chin at the same gallery. In 2018, she also participated in a three-month international residency program in Leipzig, Germany. One of the most distinctive aspects of Abedi’s practice is her unique technique of incorporating woven fabric strips into the surface of the canvas. Early in her career, she worked primarily within a figurative mode of painting; however, following her studies in the United States, her artistic approach underwent a significant transformation. In her later works, the canvas itself assumes a central role. By cutting and interlacing strips of fabric into the structure of the support, she creates intricate geometric configurations based on repetition, pattern, and visual rhythm. Her works evoke traditional Iranian textile practices such as mat weaving and carpet weaving, while also recalling the geometric principles and decorative structures of Persian architecture.