Rokneddin Haeri-Zadeh, known as Rokni Haeri (born 1357, Tehran), is one of the leading figures of contemporary Iranian painting. He has transformed art into a tool for unflinching critique of politics, social culture, and the violent and contradictory dimensions of human nature. Using a bitter, grotesque, and often darkly humorous visual language, his works narrate individual and collective experiences within the context of Iran’s contemporary history, frequently crossing the boundaries between satire, tragedy, and theatricality. Haeri-Zadeh began his artistic training in painting under Ahmad Amin-Nazar and later studied painting at the University of Tehran. From the late 1370s, through participation in group exhibitions at Elahieh Gallery in Tehran, he emerged as a progressive and innovative artist. His first official solo exhibition, titled Candy (1379), was held in Berlin and marked a significant turning point in his international recognition. His works have since been exhibited at major art institutions worldwide, including ICA Boston, Den Frie Centre of Contemporary Art in Copenhagen, Callicoon Fine Arts in New York, No More Grey Gallery in London, and leading galleries in Dubai. Haeri-Zadeh received Second Prize at the Sixth Tehran Contemporary Painting Biennial (1382) and the MACBA Prize from the Han Nefkens Foundation, Barcelona.
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Solo Exhibitions
2000 Candy, curated by Fiona Drummond, Berlin
2000 Wieland Gallery, Berlin
2001 On the Transformation of Love for Ourselves and Vision as a Whole, Machen
Mode Gallery, Berlin
2004 Paintings by Rokni Haeri-Zadeh, The Third Line Gallery, Dubai
2005 The Third Line Gallery, Dubai
2005 Khosrow and Shirin, Dey Gallery, Tehran
2006 Dolmeh, Golestan Gallery, Tehran
2006 Drawings and Paintings by Rokni Haeri-Zadeh, The Third Line Gallery, Dubai
2006 Paintings by Rokni Haeri-Zadeh, Dey Gallery, Tehran
2007 The Donkey, the Idol Worshipper, the Bride and Others, B21 Gallery, Dubai
2007 Inside and Outside, No More Grey Gallery, London
2008 Gol-Andam and the Improperly Veiled, Artist Gallery, Istanbul
2008 Tehran 206, Aaran Gallery, Tehran
2009 Ah, Victory! You Forgot What Was Under Your Skin, B21 Gallery, Dubai
2015 Birthday Party, Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), Boston
2015 I Will Not Wait for My Hair to Turn Gray and for Worldly Care to Refine My
Outlook, Callicoon Fine Arts, New York
2015 Those Who Love Spiders and Let Them Sleep in Their Hair, Den Frie Centre
of Contemporary Art, Copenhagen
2020 Winter Reign (online exhibition), Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh
Group Exhibitions
2000 Elahieh Gallery, Tehran
2000 Painting on the Wall, German Embassy, Tehran
2001 Golestan Gallery, Tehran
2002 Prayer Rugs, Atashzad Gallery, Tehran
2002 Golestan Gallery, Tehran
2003 On the Road, Public Art Project, Tehran
2003 Auspicious Talismans, installation and performance, Golestan Gallery,
Tehran
2004 Young Painters, Dey Gallery, Tehran
2004 Gardens of Iran, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
2005 Mah Gallery, Tehran
2005 Second Generation, Asar Gallery, Tehran
2005 Gardens of Iran, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
2005 Four Young Painters, Dey Gallery, Tehran
2006 Iran Dot Com: Art of Today, Museum für Neue Kunst, Freiburg
2006 Confronting Drawing, Homa Gallery, Tehran
2006 What Movie?, Azad Art Designers Gallery, Tehran
2006 Seven Views, Niavaran Cultural Center, Tehran
2007 Seven Views, Niavaran Cultural Center, Tehran
2007 Wishes and Dreams: The Emergence of a New Generation of Iranians, Meridian
International Center, USA
2008 Circular and Layered, Thomas Erben Gallery, New York
2009 Circular and Layered, Thomas Erben Gallery, New York
2010 In Obscurity with a Crown of Leaves, Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris
2010 Unveiling New Art from the Middle East, Saatchi Gallery, London
2010 This Is the Neighborhood, B21 Gallery, Dubai
2010 Thunderbolt: 17 Artists from Iran, Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris
2011 State: Future Uprising, Traffic Gallery, Dubai
2011 Big Brother: The Artist Facing the Dictator, Palais des Arts, Dinard,
France
2012 I Put It There, You Name It, with Ramin Haeri-Zadeh and Hesam Rahmanian,
Isabelle van den Eynde, Dubai
2013 Carnegie International, Pittsburgh
2014 Here and Elsewhere, New Museum, New York
2014 The Precious Body Must Drink the New Wine, with Ramin Haeri-Zadeh and
Hesam Rahmanian, Dubai
2014 A Turin, Ah, and Death, Palazzo Cavour, Turin
2014 Zoo, Shirin Gallery, Tehran
2015 Global Positioning Systems, Pérez Art Museum, Miami
2015 Living in a Mobile World, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, New York
2015 Beautiful Paintings, Isabelle van den Eynde, Dubai
2015 Rokni Haeri-Zadeh and Ramin Haeri-Zadeh, Plutschow Gallery, Zurich
2015 All Rivers Flow to the Sea, Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art,
Queensland Art Gallery
2015 The Fall, Rodeo Gallery, Istanbul
2015 Cut the Bent Arch into the Shape of a Dry Paper Sky, Kunsthalle Zürich
2016 But a Storm Is Blowing from Paradise, Guggenheim Museum, New York
2016 Travelling in Iran, Fondation Bénam Bakhtiar, France
2016 Social Calligraphy, Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw
2016 Internal Affairs: Altered, Isabelle van den Eynde, Dubai
2016 Condo, Rodeo Gallery, London
2017 Creativity: Execution, Process, Presence, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi
2017 Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Persians, Aga Khan Museum,
Toronto
2019 40–50–60, Azad Art Designers Gallery, Tehran
2019 Re:Orient, Grassi Museum, Leipzig
2019 We Are Open for Installations, Dubai
2019 Series of Shows (Online), New Museum, New York
2020 Ramin Haeri-Zadeh, Rokni Haeri-Zadeh, Hesam Rahmanian, Schirn Kunsthalle,
Frankfurt
2020 One by One, Azad Art Designers Gallery, Tehran
2021 Defiant, Playful, Mystic, Poet, Asia Society, New York
2021 Recent Acquisitions, Frye Art Museum, Washington, DC
2021 Parthenogenesis, NYUAD Art Gallery, Abu Dhabi
2023 Contemporary Exhibition, Hasht Cheshmeh Art Space, Kashan
2023 Where Are We Now?, Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna
2023 Several Seasons: Fereydoun Ave and the Laleh Collection, Art Jameel, Dubai
2023 In Real Time, NYUAD Art Gallery, Abu Dhabi
2024 Shadow Forms, Vienna Secession
2024 Magenta, Soo Contemporary Collection, Tehran
Biennials and International Events
2003 Sixth Tehran Contemporary Painting Biennial
2005 Beijing Painting Biennial
2010 Fictionville Biennial, Sharjah
2016 Ninth Liverpool Biennial
2017 57th Venice Biennale, National Pavilion of the United Arab Emirates
Art Fairs
2011 Art Berlin Contemporary
2016 ARCO Madrid
2018–2024 Art Dubai, ARCO, Art Basel, Art Brussels, Artissima, Art Genève, Abu
Dhabi Art
Awards
2003 Second Prize, Sixth Tehran Contemporary Painting Biennial
2015 MACBA Prize, Han Nefkens Foundation, Barcelona