Arghavan Khosravi (; born 1984) is an Iranian-born American visual artist, and illustrator. She is known for her three dimensional paintings with works that cross between the traditions of

European Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and surpass the idea ...

and

Persian miniature A Persian miniature (Persian language, Persian: نگارگری ایرانی ''negârgari Irâni'') is a small Persian painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works called a ...

; with themes of freedom, exile, and empowerment. Khosravi lives in Stamford,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, and previously lived in

Natick Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Early life and education

Arghavan Khosravi was born in 1984 in

Shahr-e Kord Shahr-e Kord () is a city in the Central District of Shahrekord County, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the largest city in the province, and is 90 km a ...

Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Shahr-e Kord. The province lies in the southwest of the country, with an area of 16,332 square kilometers. The province was classified as p ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. She moved to

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

when she was 8 years old and was raised in a secular household. In part due to Iranian societal issues in the aftermath of the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

, at an early age she was made aware of the distinct difference between public and private spaces. The theme of the compartmentalized self was one that carried on in her later-made artwork. Khosravi earned a BFA degree (2006) in graphic design from

Islamic Azad University The Islamic Azad University (IAU; , ''Dāneshgāh-e Āzād-e Eslāmi'') is a Private university, private university system Headquarters, headquartered in Tehran, Iran. It is one of the largest comprehensive systems of university, universities in ...

; an MFA degree (2009) in illustration from the

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

; and a MFA degree (2018) in painting from

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

Career

Several years after attending the University of Tehran, Khosravi worked as a graphic designer and children's book illustrator. She has illustrated around 20 books. She was detained by the morality police in 2011. In 2015, she moved to the United States to finish her education. She attended a one-year

postbaccalaureate program Postbaccalaureate programs (post-bacc) are reserved for students who are working toward a second entry degree. These programs are offered for those who already have a first undergraduate degree. Post Baccalaureate programs are not considered trad ...

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

. In her artwork, she juxtaposes contradictions in her images between freedom and restraints; and they often feature dream-like colorful and whimsical gardens, and something disturbing happening such as someone purposely limiting or obstructing the freedom of the female subject's bodily movement. She uses traditional Persian textile patterns in many of her paintings. Hair as a symbol has been used in many of her works; which a global audience took notice to after the

Mahsa Amini protests Civil unrest and protests against the Government of Iran, government of the Islamic Republic of Iran associated with the Death in custody, death in police custody of Death of Mahsa Amini#Victim, Mahsa Amini () began on 16 September 2022 and ca ...

in 2022.

Exhibitions

In 2019, Khosravi had her first solo exhibition in a gallery at Lyles & King in New York City. The exhibition featured 12 of her pieces, and was shown from October 11, 2019 to November 24, 2019. In 2022, she held her first solo museum exhibition at the

Currier Museum of Art The Currier Museum of Art is an art museum in Manchester, New Hampshire, in the United States. It features European and American paintings, decorative arts, photographs and sculpture. The permanent collection includes works by Picasso, Matisse, Mo ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. The exhibition was shown from April 14, 2022 to September 5, 2022 and featured over 20 works made in the years leading up to the exhibition. The exhibition was curated by the assistant curator at The Currier, Samantha Cataldo.

Solo exhibitions

* M+B Gallery (2020) in Los Angeles * Rachel Uffner gallery (2021) in New York City * Carl Kostyal Gallery (2021) in London *

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...

(2022) * Kavi Gupta Gallery (2022) in Chicago * Stems Gallery (2022) in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

* Koenig Gallery (2022) in Germany

Group exhibitions

* 2021, "Uncombed, Unforeseen, Unconstrained," an official collateral exhibition of the

59th Venice Biennale The 59th Venice Biennale was an international contemporary art exhibition held between April and November 2022, having been delayed a year due to the COVID pandemic. The Venice Biennale takes place biennially in Venice, Italy. Artistic directo ...

* Museum of Contemporary Art in Yinchuan, China * Orlando Museum of Art in Florida * Newport Art Museum in Rhode Island * Provincetown Art Association and Museum in Massachusetts

Collections

Her work is in public museum collections including at the

Newport Art Museum The Newport Art Museum, founded in 1912 as the Art Association of Newport, is located at 76 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. The museum operates a gallery in the John N. A. Griswold House, a National Historic Landmark that is one of t ...

, the

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1805, it is the longest continuously operating art museum and art school in the United States. The academy's museum ...

Museum, Rose Art Museum, Currier Museum of Art, and

RISD Museum The Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD Museum) is an art museum integrated with the Rhode Island School of Design, in Providence, Rhode Island, US. The museum was co-founded with the school in 1877. It is the 20th-largest art m ...

Awards, honors, and residencies

Her art residencies have included the

in Manchester, New Hampshire; the

Fine Arts Work Center The Fine Arts Work Center is a non-profit enterprise that supports emerging visual artists and writers in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The Work Center was founded in 1968 by a group of American artists and writers to support promising individual ...

in Provincetown, Mass.; the Studios at

MassMoCA The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) is a museum in a converted Arnold Print Works factory building complex located in North Adams, Massachusetts, North Adams, Massachusetts. It is list of largest art museums in the world, on ...

in North Adams, Mass.; Monson Arts in Monson, Maine; and Residency Unlimited in Brooklyn, New York. *

Joan Mitchell Foundation Joan Mitchell (February 12, 1925 – October 30, 1992) was an American artist who worked primarily in painting and printmaking, and also used pastel and made other works on paper. She was an active participant in the New York School of artis ...

, Painters 7 Sculptors Grant (2019) * Walter Feldman Fellowship (2017)

References

External links

Official website
* Video
Open Studio Full Show: April 22, 2022
from GBH-TV on YouTube * Article
Muslim Ban Made Personal
(2017) by Simone Solondz, RISD News * Podcast
Arghavan Khosravi, Tavan Studio in Conversation
(January 26, 2020) {{DEFAULTSORT:Khosravi, Arghavan 1984 births Living people Iranian emigrants to the United States Islamic Azad University alumni University of Tehran alumni Rhode Island School of Design alumni American women painters Iranian women painters 21st-century Iranian painters American women sculptors Iranian women sculptors People from Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province Mahsa Amini protests Artists from Stamford, Connecticut