Shahpour Pouyan b. 1979
Shahpour Pouyan’s work is a commentary about power, domination and possession through the force of culture. His interest lies in singling out particular objects whose images captivate him, and by painting them he releases the feeling of anguish they create. Pouyan’s hooves are symbols for the aspiration of power, lonely beings with vain attempts at grandeur, which are faintly ridiculous, provoking mixed feelings of pity and contempt. The works draw their inspiration from Iranian miniatures with references to the cow as the symbol of power in the ancient cultures of Sumer, Babylon, Iran and Hinduism, emphasising the superego of male aggression throughout the centuries.
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Projectile 12, 2013
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(Jordan), 2017
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(Kyrgyzstan), 2017
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(Pakistan), 2017
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(Scotland), 2017
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(Bangladesh), 2017
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My Place is the Placeless, 2017
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Untitled, 2017
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Incarnation of the Body Politic, 2017-18
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Iskandar visits the Ka‘ba in Mecca, 2018
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After, Rustam, the great epic hero of the Iran, was lured by his treacherous half-brother to ride over a hidden pit implanted with spears, which impaled him and his trusted horse Raksh, 2018
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Monday Recollections of Muqarnas Dome 7, 2021
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Monday Recollections of Muqarnas Dome 11, 2022
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Monday Recollections of Muqarnas Dome 14, 2022
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Monday Recollections of Muqarnas Dome 15, 2022
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Monday Recollections of Muqarnas Dome 16, 2022
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Untitled, 2022
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Untitled, 2022
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Untitled, 2022
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Memory Drawings, 2015-16
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Exhibition View, 2011
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Still Life, 2014
Shahpour Pouyan was born in Isfahan, Iran, in 1979. He has an MFA in Integrated Practices and New Forms at Pratt Institute, New York, and has an MFA in Painting from the Tehran University of Art.
solo gallery shows
Select solo galler shows include 249 Kilometers by 68 Meters, Nathalie Obadiah Gallery, Paris, France, 2022; Skyhigh Is My Place, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Ghent, Belgium, 2021; Me thinks These Be Devils Three, Nathalie Obadiah Gallery, Brussels, Belgium, 2021; After Examining The Logbook, The Doctors Assume They Are Dealing With The Plague, Galerie Nathalie Obadia Cloitre Saint Merri, France, 2019; Untitled, Barbara Walters Gallery, Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York, USA, 2019; Wūshuǐ, Copperfield, London, UK, 2018; The Incarnation of the Body Politic, The Armory Show, Focus Section, with Lawrie Shabibi, New York, USA, 2018; My Place is the Placeless, Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, UAE, 2017; We owe this considerable land to the horizon line, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris, France, 2017; History Travels at Different Speeds, Copperfield, London, UK, 2015; PTSD, Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, UAE, 2014; Full Metal Jacket, Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, UAE, 2011; and The Hooves, Sixty Six Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran, 2010.
Recent group exhibitions
Islamic Arts Biennale, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 2023; Strange Clay: Ceramics in Contemporary Art, Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, London, UK, 2022; Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Persians, Asia Society Museum, New York City, 2022; Selection from the NYU Art Collection, The Grey Art Gallery, NYU, New York City, 2022; Contemporary Ceramic Art from the Middle East, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK, 2021; Skin & Hair, Keramiek Museum Princessehof, Leeuwarden, Netherlands, 2021; Prelude: Melancholy of the future, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Ghent, Belgium, 2021; Miniature 2.0, Pera Museum, Istanbul, Turkey, 2020; BLUE, Lawrie Shabibi Gallery, Dubai, UAE, 2020; Clapping with Stones: Art and Acts of Resistance, Rubin Museum, New York City, 2019; The Moon: A Voyage Through Time, Aga Khan Museum, Canada, 2019; Speaking Power to Post Truth, Curated by Sara Raza, Jane Lombard, New York, USA, 2019; Punk Orientalism, Curated by Sara Raza, MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Canada, 2018; White Anxieties, Curated by Raul Zamudio and Juan Puntes, WhiteBox, New York City, USA, 2018; Only the Morning Bird Treasures the Flower Garden, REDCAT, Los Angeles, California, USA, 2018; In the Fields of Empty Days, Los Angeles County Museum, LACMA; California, USA, 2018; The New Minimalists, Abrons Arts Center, New York City, USA, 2018; LB01, Lahore Biennial, Pakistan, 2018; Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Persians, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA, 2017; The Silk Road and World’s Civilizations, 7th Beijing Biennale, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China, 2017; The Jameel Prize 4 exhibition, Asia Culture Centre, Gwangju, South Korea, 2017; Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Persians, Museum of Fine Art, Houston, USA, 2017; Insights, Art Basel Hong Kong, with Lawrie Shabibi, Hong Kong, 2017; Iranian Voices, Recent Acquisitions of Works on Paper, British Museum, London, UK, 2017; UNSEEN, Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, UAE, 2016; Home Land Security, SF, USA, 2016; the Jameel Prize 4 exhibition, Pera Museum, Istanbul, Turkey, 2016; Recentring Modernism, Insights Sector, with Lawrie Shabibi, Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2016; But Still Tomorrow Builds into My Face, Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, UAE, 2016.
collections
His work is part of many prominent private and public collections including: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, New York; Collection of Robert Littman and Sully Bonnelly, New York, USA; The Abby Weed Grey Collection of Modern Asian and Middle Eastern Art, New York; The British Museum, London; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Mohammed Afkhami Collection, Dubai, Huma Kabakci Collection, Istanbul; SYZYGY, New York; The Farjam collection, Dubai; Zoroastrian Cultural Institute, Paris and the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran.
In 2022, Shahpour has been awardedThe Ellsworth Kelly Award for Visual Arts
2022 by The Foundation for Contemporary Arts in New York. Pouyan is the recipient of the 2020-2022 Kenneth Armitage Foundation Fellowship, London. In 2016, Pouyan was shortlisted for the Jameel Prize 4 by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK and has been awarded the Civitella Ranieri Fellowship for Visual Arts in Umbria, Italy.
Pouyan currently lives and works in New York.
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Shahpour Pouyan at the Johnson Museum of Art
Winter in Paradise: Johnson Museum of Art 10 - 15 Oct 2024This exhibition marks the second showcase of Shahpour Pouyan's art in the United States. Winter in Paradise is funded and sponsored by the Frist Art Museum and the Foundation for...Read more -
Shahpour Pouyan to Exhibit First Solo Museum Show in the US: 'Winter in Paradise'
Curated by Trinita Kennedy 30 May - 25 Aug 2024 MuseumsShahpour Pouyan is set to exhibit his largest solo museum exhibition to date, and first solo museum show in the US, Winter in Paradise, at the Frist Art Museum, Nashville,...Read more -
Shahpour Pouyan at the Hayward Gallery
Strange Clay: Ceramics in Contemporary Art 26 Oct 2022 - 8 Jan 2023 MuseumsFeaturing 23 international artists working across recent decades, the exhibition examines the plasticity and the possibilities of ceramics. The artworks on show encompass fantastical creatures and uncanny representations of the...Read more -
Blue
Group Exhibition 21 Nov 2020 - 12 Jan 2021 GalleryBlue explores the dialectic between meaning and visual sensation. Saturated with meanings - freedom, intuition, imagination, expansiveness, inspiration, sadness, faith, spirituality, wisdom, peace, serenity, ethereality, infinity to name just a...Read more -
Miniature 2.0
Hamra Abbas and Shahpour Pouyan at the Pera Museum, Istanbul 11 Aug 2020 - 17 Jan 2021 MuseumsFocusing on contemporary approaches to miniature painting, the exhibition brings together the works of 14 artists from different countries such as Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan. The artists...Read more -
Clapping with Stones: Art and Acts of Resistance
Nadia Kaabi-Linke and Shahpour Pouyan at The Rubin Museum of Art, New York 16 Aug 2019 - 6 Jan 2020 MuseumsContemplate the power of non-conformity and your own potential for action at Clapping with Stones: Art and Acts of Resistance. Using the Rubin’s circular architecture to create an immersive site-specific...Read more -
Materialize
Maliheh Afnan, Farhad Ahrarnia, Shaikha Al Mazrou, Asad Faulwell, Fathi Hassan, Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, Nadia Kaabi-Linke, Mona Saudi, Driss Ouadahi, Shahpour Pouyan 18 Mar - 7 Apr 2019 GalleryOpening 18 March in Warehouse 13 -a large space just across from its gallery within Alserkal Avenue- Lawrie Shabibi presents a major group exhibition to coincide with the 12th edition...Read more -
Lahore Biennial (LB01)
HAMRA ABBAS, NADIA KAABI-LINKE & SHAHPOUR POUYAN 18 - 31 Mar 2018 BiennialsAbbas, Kaabi-Linke and Pouyan are slated to participate in the inaugural edition of the Lahore Biennale (LB01), which takes place between 18 - 31 March, 2018. Lahore Biennale 01 is...Read more -
My Place is the Placeless
Shahpour Pouyan 6 Nov 2017 - 15 Jan 2018 GalleryLawrie Shabibi is pleased to announce the third solo exhibition in Dubai of New York-based Iranian artist Shahpour Pouyan. The exhibition takes its title from a phrase in a poem...Read more -
UNSEEN
SUMMER GROUP EXHIBITION 25 May - 8 Sep 2016 GalleryFor the final exhibition of the season Lawrie Shabibi presents UNSEEN, a group show of recent works by artists from the gallery roster: Adel Abidin, Farhad Ahrarnia, Asad Faulwell, Driss...Read more -
But Still Tomorrow Builds into My Face
Nadia Kaabi-Linke, Yazan Khalili, Shahpour Pouyan 14 Mar - 19 May 2016 GalleryBut Still Tomorrow Builds into My Face , curated by Nat Muller, features works by Persijn Broersen & Margit Lukács, Daniele Genadry, Nadia Kaabi-Linke, Yazan Khalili, Taus Mackhacheva, Shahpour Pouyan...Read more -
PTSD
Shahpour Pouyan 17 Mar - 22 Apr 2014 GalleryLawrie Shabibi is proud to announce Shahpour Pouyan: PTSD, his second solo exhibition at Lawrie Shabibi, consisting of new sculptures and drawings and curated by Murtaza Vali. Pouyan's first foray...Read more -
Full Metal Jacket
18 Apr - 8 Jun 2011 GalleryFull Metal Jacket, a solo exhibition of young Iranian artist Shahpour Pouyan, curated by Ali Bakhtiari.Read more
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Ceramics Now Magazine: Shahpour Pouyan
Ceramics Now, June 13, 2023 -
Shahpour Pouyan in Medalhão Persa VIP Magazine
Medalhão Persa VIP Magazine, June 1, 2023 -
Shahpour Pouyan 'In The Studio' feature in Art in America Magazine
Jordan Amirkhani, Art In America, December 1, 2022 -
Shahpour Pouyan in Harper's Bazaar Art Arabia
Katrina Kufer, Harper's Bazaar Art Arabia, March 29, 2018 -
Shahpour Pouyan in Galerie Magazine
Paul Laster, Galerie Magazine, March 5, 2018 -
Shahpour Pouyan in Art Review Asia
Rahel Aima, Art Review Asia, March 1, 2018 -
Shahpour Pouyan in White Hot Magazine
Paul Laster, White Hot Magazine, December 31, 2017 -
Shahpour Pouyan in Art Radar
Rebecca Close, Art Radar, December 12, 2017 -
Shahpour Pouyan in The National
Nick Leech, The National, December 12, 2017 -
Shahpour Pouyan in the New York Times
Jason Farago, The New York Times, December 7, 2017 -
Harper's Bazaar Art Arabia Speaks to Artvisor's Co-Founder Piero Tomassoni About Shahpour Pouyan
Rebecca Anne Proctor, Harper's Bazaar Art Arabia, June 1, 2017 -
Shahpour Pouyan Featured in the Independent Publication DAMN°
Anna Sansom, DAMN°, May 3, 2017 -
Shahpour Pouyan in Harper's Bazaar Arabia: 'Giving Voice To Iran’s Artists'
Anna Brady, Harper's Bazaar Art Arabia, March 29, 2017 -
Shahpour Pouyan Interview in Dream Idea Machine
Efi Michalarou, Dream Idea Machine, March 9, 2017 -
Shahpour Pouyan Featured in 'Art in America'
Amei Wallach, Art in America, November 1, 2016 -
Harper's Bazaar Art Arabia Profiles Shahpour Pouyan: 'Piercing Forms'
William Lawrie, Harper's Bazaar Art Arabia, September 1, 2016 -
Shahpour Pouyan in Art Asia Pacific
Kevin Jones, Art Asia Pacific, September 1, 2016 -
Art Radar Features 'But Still Tomorrow Builds into My Face'
C. A. Xuan Mai Ardia, Art Radar, April 25, 2016 -
'But Still Tomorrow Builds into My Face' - Art Forum’s Critic’s Picks
L. Ipek Ulusoy Akgul reviews , Art Forum, April 19, 2016 -
ARTSY Selects Lawrie Shabibi Among the 20 Best Booths at Art Basel Hong Kong, 2016
ALEXANDER FORBES AND FRANCES ARNOLD, ARTSY, March 22, 2016 -
BLOUINARTINFO Features 'But Still Tomorrow Builds into My Face'
Samuel Spencer, BLOUIN ARTINFO, March 21, 2016 -
BLOUIN ART INFO - Shahpour Pouyan's Shortlisted for the Jameel Prize 4
Nicholas Forrest, Blouin Art Info, January 18, 2016 -
Shahpour Pouyan in The New York Times
Holland Cotter, The New York Times, January 14, 2016 -
Shahpour Pouyan in the Guardian
Dale Berning Sawa, The Guardian, September 28, 2015 -
Shahpour Pouyan in Flash Art
Kevin Jones, Flash Art, June 4, 2014 -
Shahpour Pouyan at Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai
Philip Forsyth, March 17, 2014 -
Paper Trails
Jenny Hewett, Time Out Dubai, July 10, 2013 -
Shahpour Pouyan in Contemporary Practices
Ali Bakhtiari, Contemporary Practices, November 1, 2011 -
Shahpour Pouyan "One to watch"
Interview by Ali Bakhtiari, Canvas Guide, April 18, 2011
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Shahpour Pouyan on his Miniatures Series
Lawrie Shabibi May 12, 2020In this short video New York based Iranian artist Shahpour Pouyan takes us through a journey of his miniatures series, explaining the inspiration behind them...Read more -
Shahpour Pouyan on his Jameel Prize 4 Nomination
Jameel Prize 4 February 1, 2016In 2016 Shahpour pouyan was shortlisted for the Jameel Prize 4 by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The Jameel Prize is an international award...Read more