Main — Rezaaramesh

CV

Reza Aramesh’s work has been exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions such as in the occasion of the Museum of Fine Art, St Petersburg, Florida (2025), Historic Hampton House, Miami (2025), Venice Biennale (2024), at the Bienal de la Habana (2024), Asia Society Museum in New York (2020), Met Breuer in New York (2018), SCAD Museum in Georgia Atlanta (2018), Akademie der Kunst Berlin (2016), the 2015 Venice Biennale, Art Basel Parcours 2017, Frieze Sculpture Park 2015 and 2017, and at Maxxi Museum in Rome (2016). He has orchestrated a number of performances and exhibitions in such spaces as at Barbican Centre, Tate Britain and ICA, London. His works have entered public and private collections worldwide including in Argentina, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, USA, Belgium, France, Iran, Lebanon, Israel and the UK.

Working in sculpture, drawing, embroidery, ceramics, video and performance in a succession of ‘actions’. Aramesh draws references from media coverage of international conflicts dating from the mid-20th century until present day. This coverage is then transformed into sculptural volumes in collaboration with non-professional models, who help him re-enact his chosen source materials. No direct signs of war remain in the physical end results and the characters seem driven out of their initial contexts. Opposition between beauty and brutality allows the artist to unveil the absurdity and the futility of these actions. Aramesh de-contextualises these scenes of violence from their origins, exploring the narratives of representation and iconography of the subjected male body in the context of race, class and sexuality in order to create a critical conversation with the western art historical canon.

Exhibitions

2025

Dastan Gallery, To Be Made Flesh Again After James Baldwin, Tehran

Museum of Fine Arts, St Petersburg, In Caravaggio’s Light, Barque Masterpieces from the Fondazione Roberto Longhi, Florida

Night Gallery, Fragment of the Self, Los Angeles,

Historic Hampton House, No Room, No Vacancy, Miami

Art Basel Miami, Presented by Night Gallery, Miami

Art Basel Miami, Presented by Dastan Gallery, Miami

Frieze London, Presented by Dastan Gallery, London

Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Irrepleaceable You: Personhood and Dignity in Art, 1980s to Now, curated by Sean Kramer, Brunswick, Maine

Cure3, at Bonhams New Bond St, London

Nicodim Gallery, Mondegreens and New Understanding, New York,

Art Basel Hong Kong, Presented by Dastan Gallery, Hong Kong

2024

Chiesa di San Fantin, NUMBER 207, curated by Serubiri Moses, Venice

Muntref Centro de Arte Contemporáneo,Todo y nada están ahí para ser dichos, curated by María Gabriela Cisterna, Patricia Di Pietro and María Sol Santich, Buenos Aires

Cloud Seve, A Public Affair, curated by Bayo Hassan Bello, Brussels

Bienal de la Habana, curated by Nelson Ramirez de Arellano, Havana

2023

Site of the Fall – Study of the Renaissance Garden, Action 182: At 01:01pm Saturday 03 Feb 1968, Armory Off-site, Presented by Dastan Gallery and Night Gallery, New York

Leila Heller Gallery, The Storyteller, New York

Galerie Kandlhofer, Weltgeist, Austria

Boulevard de Waterloo 28, The Many Faces of the Self, curated by Ars Belga, Brussles

Frieze No.9 Cork Street, Realism, Presented by Dastan Gallery, London

Soft Edge of the blade vol.2, curated by Zaal Art Gallery, Toronto

Galerie Kandlhofer, Deviants, Vienna

2022

Muntref collection at MUNTREF Centro de Arte Contemporáneo, Capitulo I - Presente continuo, Buenos Aires, Curated by Diana Wechsler

Pejman Collection at Pejman Foundation, Vanishing Point, Argo Factory, Tehran, Iran, Curated by Zohreh Deldadeh

14 Bienal de la Habana, Rupture; A Thousand and One Times, Museo de Artes Decorativas, Habana, Curated by Marianne Wagner and Nelson Ramirez de Arellano

Frieze No.9 Cork Street, Soft Edge of the Blade, London, Presented by Dastan Gallery

2021

Asia Society Triennial, We Do Not Dream Alone, Asia Society Museum, New York, Curated by Michelle Yun Mapplethorpe and Boon Hui Tan

Sculpture in the City - 9th Edition, Action 180: At 9:15am Sunday 28 May, 1967, London

2020

Fitzwilliam Museum’s Octagon Gallery, Sensual/Virtual: Two Coloured Sculptures, Cambridge, UK, Curated by Dr Victoria Avery and Luke Syson

Colnaghi London, Dreamsongs: from Medicine to Demons to Artificial Intelligence, London, Curated by Bjorn Stern for Frieze London 2020

252nd Summer/Winter show at the Royal Academy of Art, London Curated by Jane and Louise Wilson

2019

Nocturnal Creatures 2019, Scramble, 1967, performance at Bury Court, London

BIENALSUR 2019, Action 213, A taste of austere luminance, Museo Nacional de Arte Decorativo (MNAD), Buenos Aires, Argentina

Asia Society Museum, 12 noon, Monday 5 August, 1963, New York

2018

The MET Breuer, Like Life: Sculpture, Color and the Body (1300 - Now), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Curated by Luke Syson, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor, Sheena Wagstaff, Leonard A. Lauder Chairman, Brinda Kumar and Emerson Bowyer

Koroka Art Museum, WAR / VOJNA der KREIG, Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia, Curated by Marko Košan

2017

Yarat Contemporary Art Space, Crumbling Down, Up and Up we Climb, Baku, Azerbeijan, Curated by Suad Garayeva-Maleki and Bjorn Geldhof

H2 Centre for Contemporary art in the Glass Palace, Bilder Fragen, Kunstsammlungen and Museen, Ausburg, Germany, Curated by Thomas Elsen, Anastasia Khoroshilova and Gustavo Sagorsky

Frieze Sculpture Park 2017, Metamorphosis - a study in liberation, Curated by Clare Lilley

Art Basel Parcours 2017, Site of the Fall: Study of the Renaissance Garden, Curated by Samuel Leuenberger

Koroška Art Museum, WAR, Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia, Curated by Marko Košan

2016

Leila Heller Gallery, At 9:15 am Sunday 28 May 1967, Dubai

Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, L’arte differente: MOCAK al MAXXI, Exhibition of works from the MOCAK Collection, Rome, Italy, Curated by Maria Anna Potocka

MUNTREF Centro de Arte Contemporáneo, Migrations (in) Contemporary Art, , Museum of the National University Tres de Febrero Buenos Aires, Argentina, Curated by Diana Wechsler

Academie de Künst, Uncertain States - Artistic Strategies in States of Emergency, Berlin, Germany, Curated by Dr. Anke Hervol

Art Centre Hugo Voeten, permanent Collection display, Herentals, Belgium

Ab-Anbar gallery, At 11:57 am Wednesday 23 October 2013, Tehran, Iran

Esfahan Museum of Contemporary Art, RTL: LTR, Esfahan, Iran, Curated by Tarlan Rafiee and Yashar Samimi Mofakham

1x1 Art Gallery, Poetics of Absence, Dubai, Curated by Cristiana de Marchi

2015

Sazmanab, Spring of Recession - Centrefold Project, Tehran, Iran

Venice Biennale Edition 56, The Iranian Pavilion, Venice, Itay, curated by Okwui Enwezor

Frieze Sculpture Park 2015, Curated by Clare Lilley

Leila Heller Gallery, Friday April 25, 2003 at 07:55, New York

MUNTREF Centro de Arte Contemporáneo, Migrants, curated by Diana Wechsler, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Armory Show, New York

2014

Ab-Anbar gallery, At 11:08 March 14th, 2006, Tehran, Iran

Al Quoz Industrial 3, The Whistle of the Souls, a play that never starts, Dubai, Curated by Ali Bakhtiari

2013

Leila Heller Gallery, 12 MIDNIGHTS, multi-venue exhibition in collaboration with five nightclubs in NYC: Marquee, No. 8, Santos Party House, Sugarland and Bossa Nova Civic Club, New York

Goethe Institute Brussels, Cultural Freedom in Europe, Brussels, Belgium, Curated by Filip Luyckx

The Armory Show Centennial Edition, New York

2012

Le Loft Sévigné, Lost in paradise: du spirituel dans l'art actuel, Paris, France, Curated by Arianne Levene and Eglantine de Ganay

Curated by Arianne Levene and Eglantine de Ganay

Without Hope, Without Fear, Al Joud Center, UAE

The Elephant in the Dark, crated by Amirali Ghasemi, Devi Art, Foundation, Gurgaon, India

Migrasophia - ( Migration + Philosophy ), curated Sara Raza, Maraya Art Centre, Sharjah

ADVANCE/...NOTICE, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

2011

Walking in the Darkness of a Promised Light, Isabelle Van Den Eynde Gallery, Dubai, UAE (cat.)

Light – Part I, curated by Gabriel Rolt and Nick Hackworth, Paradise Row, London

Eat Me, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town

2010

Satement, Paris Photo 2009, curated by Catherine Davide, France (cat.)

Between the Eye and the Object falls the Shadow, Isabelle Van Den Eynde Gallery, Dubai, UAE (cat.)

Hope!: I’espoir, de Giacometti a Murakami, curated by Ashok Adiceam, Palais des Arts et du Festival, Dinard, France. (cat.)

2009

Live Action 71, curated by The Diogenes Club, Late at Tate Britain, London, UK

Relaunch, Sunbury House, London, UK

2008

Live Action 60, commissioned for Zoo Art Fair and CollectingLiveArt, London

Best of Discoveries, Shcontemporary, Shanghai, China. (cat.)

A World without Borders, Event Horizon, GSK Contemporary, Royal Academy of Art, London, UK

The Apartment, curated by Brian Chalkley and Lewis Amar, Royal London House, London

2007

You Were the Dead, Their’s Was the Future, seduced, Barbican Art Gallery, London, UK

Who is the Third that Walks Beside You?, Matthew Bown gallery, London, UK

Reza Aramesh, Watermans Centre, London, UK

We’ve Lost the Hearts and Minds..., Event gallery, London, UK (cat.)

Space Invasion, an International Offspace Project, various venues, Vienna, Austria (cat.)

Los Vinilos, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Politics of Fear, Albion Gallery, London, UK. Temporary Measures, curated by Hut Projects, Associates Gallery, London, UK
Into Position, curated by Anthony Gross, Bauernmarkt

1 and 9, 1010 Vienna
The Lucifer Effect, curated by Gordon Cheung, Gallery Primo Alonso, London

2006

Live Action: I am a Believer, commissioned by ICA, Trafalgar Square, London, UK

Making a Scene, curated by Tal Yahas Haifa Museum of Art, Israel (cat.)

Metropolis Rise: New Art from London, CQL Design Centre, Shanghai and 798 Art District, Beijing, China (cat.) Culture Bound, East Wing Collection VII, Courtauld

Institute of Art, Somerset House, London, UK
Art Car Boot Fair, Brick Lane, London. Curated by Karen Ashton and Helen Hayward

2005

Live Action: The Key of Dreams, Gasworks Gallery, London, UK

Live Action: Of this Men Shall Know Nothing, Thomas Goode Shop, London, UK

USA . Defense, University of California, Sweeney Art Gallery

We Have Met The Enemy and He is Us, curated by Shezad Dawood, Redux Project Space, London, UK

Pencil (a drawing show), Carter presents, London

Contemporary Drawings, Parnassos Literary Society, Athens, Greece. Curated by Synthesis

2004

The eternal spring, Lawrence O’Hana gallery. London

U.K. So You’re Afraid of What?, curated by Centrefold, Redux Project Space, London, UK

Copy-art.net, curated by Irini Papadimitriou, ICA, London, UK

Gewalt, curated by Suhall Malik, Laushy Art, Tel Aviv Israel (cat.)

Sir ® Eel: The Suit since ’68: The Politics of Revulsion, curated by Peter Lewis, Redux Project Space, London, UK

Pilot1, Lime House Town hall, Lime House, London

Art Car Boot Fair, Truman Brewery, London, curated by Karen and Helen Asthon

Flea market, TemporaryContemporary, London

2003

Picture This, Platform Gallery, London, UK. Flaca, Flaca Gallery, London, Book Launch

2001

What if I Told the Truth?, curated by Reza Aramesh, Cell Projects, London, UK

Trick Peaser, curated by Luke Oxley, Mandarin Duck, London, UK

Teeth and Trousers, curated by Richard Priestly, Cell Projects, London, UK

Forever Yours, curated by Reza Aramesh, Victoria House, London, UK

Heart of Glass, curated by Esther Windsor, London, College of Printing, London, UK

Reza Aramesh. Desert Rose, Victoria House, London, UK

2000

Include Me Out, London. Curated by John Chilver

Wooden Heart, Avco, London. Curated by Reza Aramesh and Tina Spear

Collections -

The work has been collected by many public and private collections including:

Tate UK

Lazaar Foundation

Hugo Voeten Foundation

Mocak Museum Poland

Rodin Museum

Versaille Palace Collection - Zabludowicz Collection

RAK Art Foundation

Prizes & Awards -

2011 -

Nominated for a Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Visual Artists

2010 -

Nominated for a Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Visual Artists

2006 -

Artsadmin Bursary

2006 -

Arts Council of England grant for the ‘I am a Believer’ show hosted by the ICA

2004 -

London Arts Research and Development grant, Arts Council

Projects & Publications -

2018 -

Centrefold Project Issue 10

2017 -

Centrefold project Issue 9

2015 -

Friday April 25, 2003 at 07:55, Leila Heller Gallery, Murtaza Vali

Centrefold Scrapbook, Issue 9, Spring of recession, Sazmanab Centre for Contemporary Art, Tehran, Iran

At 11:08 March 14, 2006, Sazmanab centre for contemporary art, Ab-Anbar, David Thorp

2014 -

12MIDNIGHT, multi-venue exhibition in five nightclubs, New York Milovan Farronato, Media Farzin, Eugenio Viola

Crude Humanity, Sara Raza, The Whistle of the Souls

2012 -

Centrefold Scrapbook, Issue VIII, The Circle of Manias. Launch and exhibition/talk at Zabludowicz Collection, London

2011 -

Walking in the Darkness of a Promised Light, Isabelle Van Den Eynde Gallery

2010 -

Between the Eye and the Object falls the Shadow, Isabelle Van Den Eynde Gallery, Thomas Frangenberg

2008 -

Centrefold Scrapbook, Issue VII, A world without borders...

2007 -

Centrefold Scrapbook, Issue VI, It is is, And it is now only...

2006 -

Centrefold Scrapbook, Issue V, We’ve lost the heart and minds...

2005 -

Centrefold Scrapbook, Issue IV, I think I’ll Speak To...

Books -

“Reza Aramesh” Published by the Collectors’ Editions 2018

“Like Life Sculpture, Color, And the Body” Published by The MET New York 2018

“Uncertain States, Travelling Fragments” Published by Akademie Der Kunste, 2017

“At 11:57am Wednesday 23 October 2013” Published by Ab Anbar Gallery, Tehran, 2016

“Friday April 25, 2003 at 07:55” Published by Leila Heller gallery New York, 2015

“The Great Game” Art, Artists and Culture from the heart of the world.: Silvana Editoriale, 2016

“Hope” Une Exposition d’art contemporain sur l’Espoir. Skira Flammarion, 2010

2011. “Reza Aramesh Them Who Dwell on the Earth”, “12 MidNight” Published by Damani Press Italy Metropolis Rise: New Art From London Published by temporary Contemporary 2006

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