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Shadi Ghadirian is a contemporary photographer born in 1974 in Tehran. She is known for addressing cultural themes, women’s experiences, and the relationship between tradition and modernity in her work. In 1998, she received her bachelor’s degree in photography from Islamic Azad University and, under the mentorship of Kaveh Golestan, held her first solo exhibition at Golestan Gallery in Tehran. Ghadirian’s photographs often depict the tension between past and present, combining social identity, personal experience, and historical references. Her major solo exhibitions include Be Colorful at Robert Klein Gallery in Boston, and Like Everyday and Miss Butterfly at Silk Road Gallery in Tehran. Her works have been shown in international events such as the Moscow Photo Biennale, the Barbican Centre in London, the PhotoArt Festival in Poland, and the exhibition Transforming Words into Art at the British Museum. In 2018, the book The Narrator of Suwayda, featuring a conversation with Nazanin Khosravani, was published and launched alongside an exhibition at Projects 009821 in Tehran.
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Solo Exhibitions
1999 – Solo Exhibition, Golestan Gallery, Tehran
2002 – Villa Moda, Kuwait
2006
French Cultural Center, Damascus
Al-Ma’mal Foundation 2, Jerusalem
B.21 Gallery, Dubai
2008
Tasvir Gallery, India
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), California
2009
Aeroplastics Contemporary Art Center, Belgium
CO2 Gallery, Rome
Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai
2011 – Queen Gallery, Canad
2016 – “Like Every Day, Nothing and Void,” AB43
Contemporary, Zurich
2018 – “Narrator of the Dark Self,” 009821 Projects, Tehran
2023 – “Seven Stones,” Silk Road Gallery, Tehran
2024 – “I Have Grown Rose Flowers in My Garden,” Anna Mara
Gallery, Rome
Group Exhibitions
1997
Tehran International Documentary Photo Exhibition, Tehran
“About Children,” Aria Gallery, Tehran
1998
Sooreh International Photo Exhibition, Tehran
Barg Gallery, Tehran
1999
Leighton House Museum, London
2000
“Heritage,” Leighton House Museum, London
Nikolaj Contemporary Art Center, Copenhagen
Ballymena Festival, Northern Ireland
House of World Cultures, Berlin
Foundation for Iranian Women’s Studies, Worth Ryder Gallery, University of
California, Berkeley
2001
A Space Gallery, Toronto
“Contemporary Iranian Art,” Barbican Arts Centre, London
PhotoEspaña Festival, Spain
2002
“About Iran,” Espace Electra, Paris
Silk Road Gallery, Tehran
Silk Road Gallery,Tehran
Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran
“Half-Glances of Iran,” Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, Greece
A Space Gallery, Toronto
“Contemporary Iranian Art,” Barbican Arts Centre, London
PhotoEspaña Festival, Spain
2003
“Harem Dreams and New Scheherazades,” Spain and France
“Women in the East – Women in the West,” Germany
Gothenburg Museum of Art, Sweden
Sorbonne University, Paris
2004
Brussels Parliament
House of World Cultures, Berlin
Chobi Mela 3, Bangladesh
San Jose Museum of Art, New York
House of World Cultures, Berlin
2005
“How Easterners Look at the West,” CCCB, Barcelona
Rebel Mind Gallery, Berlin
PhotoArt Festival, Poland
“After Evolution,” San Sebastián, Spain
Aeroplastics Gallery, Belgium
Baudoin Lebon Gallery, Paris
Third Line Gallery, Dubai
2006
“Displaying and Using the Body in Art,” Hélène Lamarque Gallery, Paris
“The Merciful Are Forgiven,” Feigen Contemporary, New York
Art Space Witzenhausen, Amsterdam
“The Hidden Mirror,” De Santos Gallery, Houston
“Turning Words into Art,” British Museum, London
“Image of the Middle East,” DCCD, Denmark
“O Iran,” Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Australia
Le Rectangle, Lyon
Selimász Fenyek, Budapest
Silk Road Gallery, Tehran
2008
Kramer Contemporary Art Center, Switzerland
2009
“Paths,” Waterhouse & Dodd Gallery, London
Arario Gallery, New York
2012
“Iranian Art,” Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris
2014
“So Slowly It Drowns,” Tarahaneh Azad Gallery, Tehran
2016
“This House,” Iranshahr Gallery, Tehran
2017
“In Memory of Agha Ebrahim Khan Akkasbashi,” Dena Gallery, Tehran
2018
“Selected Works,” Cafesjian Center for the Arts, Yerevan
“I Am Sohrab Sepehri,” Didi Museum-Gallery, Mazandaran
“228,” Silk Road Gallery, Tehran
“Shabtab 4,” Azad Gallery, Tehran
“In the Bed of Empty Days,” Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery
“The Sixth International Art for Peace Festival,” Mellat Park Complex, Tehran
“Tehran Monoxide Project,” Silk Road Gallery, Tehran
“In the Bed of Empty Days,” Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
2019
“A Few Days In Between,” Nabshi Center, Tehran
“40–50–60,” Tarahaneh Azad Gallery, Tehran
“Limited Editions – 1,” 009821 Projects, Tehran
“Iran – Visual Poems,” Quebec
“Afshoon-e Noor,” Negah Gallery, Tehran
“Registering the Visual Past of Iran,” Pergamon Museum, Berlin
“Painting and Sculpture Exhibition,” Sarv-e Naz Gallery, Shiraz
“Documenting the Photographic Art of Iran’s Past,” Pergamon Museum, Berlin
“Iranian Contemporary Art and Historical Imagination,” Campus Gallery,
Massachusetts
2020
“Epic Iran,” Victoria and Albert Museum, London
2021
“Gaze,” Liam Gallery, Tehran
“Defiant, Playful, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Iranians,” Asia Society Museum,
New York
“Wrath of the Soul,” Bendigo Gallery
“Primary Material,” A Gallery, Tehran
2023
“In Honor of Lee Majiner,” Yafteh Gallery, Tehran
“Lessons of Freedom,” Podbielski Contemporary, Milan
2024
“The Collector,” Artibition Gallery, Tehran
“Khosrownameh,” Tarahaneh Azad Gallery, Tehran
“Dorrous, No. 34,” Artibition Gallery, Tehran
“Are You Kidding? Women and Humor,” Church Sag Harbor, New York
“War at War with War,” Sheydaei Gallery, Tehran
“Absence,” Deyhim Art Society, Tehran
2025
“Shifting Perspectives: Women from the Middle East,” Farjam Institute, Dubai
“Or,” Eivan Gallery, Tehran
Art Fairs
2013
Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair, presented by Yavuz Fine Art Gallery, Istanbul
2014
Artissima Art Fair, presented by Podbielski Gallery
Paris Photo Art Fair, presented by Robert Klein Gallery, Paris
2015
Photo London Art Fair, presented by Robert Klein Gallery, London
Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair, presented by Yavuz Fine Art Gallery
2016
Art16 Art Fair, presented by Officine dell’Immagine Gallery, London
2017
Photo London Art Fair, presented by Officine dell’Immagine Gallery
Photo Basel Art Fair, presented by AB43 Contemporary Gallery
2018
Paris Photo Art Fair, presented by Silk Road Gallery
Paris Photo Art Fair, presented by Silk Road Gallery
Paris Photo (Photo Paris), presented by Silk Road Gallery
2019
Tir Art Fair, presented by Silk Road Gallery, Tehran
Artissima Art Fair, presented by Podbielski Contemporary, Turin
Paris Photo Art Fair, presented by Silk Road Gallery, Paris
Art Miami, presented by Waterhouse & Dodd, Miami
Tir Art Fair, presented by Silk Road Gallery, Tehran
Art Miami, presented by Waterhouse & Dodd, Miami
India Art Fair, presented by Sakshi Gallery, New Delhi
2020
Tir Art Fair, presented by 009821 Projects, Tehran
2023
MIA Art Fair, presented by Podbielski Contemporary, Milan
2025
Photo London Art Fair, presented by Podbielski Contemporary, London
Biennials
2003
Participation in the 6th Sharjah Biennial, Sharjah
2004
Participation in the Moscow Photo Biennale, Russia
2012
Participation in the Fashion Photography Biennale, Varaždin, Croatia
2018
Participation in the Chennai Photo Biennale, India
