Shirin Abedinirad

Shirin Abedinirad
Abedinirad at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Gallery, 2016.
Born1986
Tabriz, Iran
NationalityIranian
EducationMichigan State University (MFA, 2024)
Shariaty Technical College, Tehran (BA, 2014)
Known forInstallation art, Land art, Conceptual art
Notable workBabel Tower (2015)
Mirrored Ziggurat (2015)
Reflective Journey (2023-2024)
AwardsArtPrize Installation Public Award (2024)
International Sculpture Center Honorable Mention (2023)
Fabrica Research Centre Scholarship (2014)
Websitewww.shirinabedinirad.com

Shirin Abedinirad (born 1986) is an Iranian contemporary artist and assistant professor at Utah Valley University. She is known for her large-scale mirror installations, conceptual art, and land art projects that explore themes of nature, spirituality, and optical illusions.[1] Since 2024, she has served as Assistant Professor in the Department of Art & Design at Utah Valley University.[2] In 2023, she appeared as an actress in Ali Ahmadzadeh's film Critical Zone, which won the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival.[3]

Early life and education

Abedinirad was born in 1986 in Tabriz, Iran.[4] She began her artistic practice with painting in 2002. She earned an Associate Degree in Graphic Design from Ardabil Vocational College for Girls (2003-2005) and a Bachelor of Arts in Fashion and Textile Design from Shariaty Technical College in Tehran (2009-2014), where her thesis examined the relationship between conceptual art and fashion design.[4]

In 2013, she participated in a visual arts workshop led by renowned Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami.[4] From 2021 to 2024, she pursued a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art at Michigan State University, graduating with her thesis project "Reflective Journey."[5]

Artistic practice

Abedinirad's work primarily consists of site-specific installations using mirrors and reflective materials to create optical illusions and connect natural environments with human perception.[6] Her installations often incorporate geometric forms inspired by Islamic architecture, particularly ziggurats and pyramids, which she covers with mirrors to reflect and fragment the surrounding landscape.[7]

Her artistic philosophy centers on creating "a transcendental experience" through the manipulation of light, reflection, and space. She has stated that her work aims to "connect the earth to the sky" and create moments of contemplation about humanity's relationship with nature.[8]

Career

Academic career

In 2024, Abedinirad joined Utah Valley University as Assistant Professor in the Department of Art & Design, where she teaches courses in Fiber Art, Sculpture III, and 3D Design.[2] Prior to this appointment, she served as Instructor of Record for Three-Dimensional Form at Michigan State University (2022-2023).[4]

Major installations

Abedinirad's first major outdoor installation, Narcissus (2013), was created in Iran's Central Desert, featuring a spiral staircase covered in mirrors.[6] This was followed by Evocation (2013), also in the Central Desert, which established her signature approach of using mirrors to create illusions in natural landscapes.[9]

In 2014, while on scholarship at Fabrica Research Centre in Italy, she created Heaven on Earth, an installation that brought her mirror work into an interior space.[10] Her international breakthrough came with Mirrored Ziggurat (2015) at the Underbelly Arts Festival on Cockatoo Island, Sydney, which gained widespread media attention.[11]

Babel Tower (2015), created in collaboration with Italian designer Gugo Torelli, became one of her most recognized works.[12] The installation featured a pyramidal structure covered in mirrors that rotated to create kinetic reflections. The image was later selected as the cover for Stanford University Press's book "Archaeology of Babel: The Colonial Foundation of the Humanities" by Siraj Ahmed.[13]

Her work Revision (2018) was featured at the Lorne Sculpture Biennale in Australia,[14] while Reflective Journey (2023-2024) has been shown at multiple international venues including the Oku-Noto Triennale in Japan and as a VR installation at Art Dubai Digital.[15]

Film career

In 2023, Abedinirad made her acting debut in Ali Ahmadzadeh's film Critical Zone (Persian: منطقه بحرانی). The film won the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival.[3] The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "an innovative and provocative cri de coeur."[3]

Works

Selected installations

  • Narcissus (2013) – First outdoor installation in Iran's Central Desert[6]
  • Evocation (2013) – Central Desert, Iran[6]
  • Heaven on Earth (2014) – Fabrica, Treviso, Italy[10]
  • Mirrored Ziggurat (2015) – Underbelly Arts Festival, Cockatoo Island, Sydney, Australia[16]
  • Babel Tower (2015) – Collaboration with Gugo Torelli[12][13]
  • Revision (2018) – Lorne Sculpture Biennale, Australia[14]
  • Tide (2019) – Swell Sculpture Festival, Currumbin Beach, Australia[17]
  • The Magic of Reflection (2022) – Istanbul Airport, Turkey[8]
  • Reflective Journey (2023–2024) – Multi-location installation[15]

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

  • 2024: Reflective Journey, Kates-Ferri Projects Gallery, New York (curated by Micaela Giovannotti)
  • 2023: Reflective Journey, Sanji Gallery, Seoul, South Korea (curated by Juli Cho Bailer and Micaela Giovannotti)[18]
  • 2022: Women Hair Freedom, Kresge Art Center, MSU, Michigan[4]
  • 2022: Collective Reflection, Girls Monastery, Trabzon, Turkey (curated by Ayca Okay)

Selected group exhibitions

  • 2024: Art Field Nanhai 2024, Public Art, Foshan, China
  • 2024: Creative Confluence, Philips Los Angeles, California
  • 2023: Heaven on Earth #3, Lumiere Festival, Durham, UK
  • 2022: On the Edge of Senses, Times Art Museum, Beijing and Chengdu, China
  • 2018: I SEE, I AM, SETAREH X Gallery, Düsseldorf (curated by Shahram Karimi)[19]
  • 2017: In Between (Part II): So Far, Mana Contemporary (curated by Shahram Karimi)
  • 2016: One Belt One Road Visual Arts Exhibition, Sotheby's Hong Kong Gallery (with Yayoi Kusama and Joana Vasconcelos)[20]
  • 2016: The Absence of Paths, Tunisian Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia (curated by Lina Lazaar)

Publications

  • Abedinirad, Shirin (2016). Fashion & Conceptual Art in 21st Century (in Persian) (6th ed.). Tehran: Nazar Art Publication. p. 216.

Awards and recognition

  • 2024: ArtPrize Installation Public Award, Grand Rapids, USA
  • 2024: Featured Public Projects Grant, ArtPrize
  • 2024: Frederik Meijer Gardens Sculpture Grant, ArtPrize
  • 2023: Honorable Mention, Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Awards, International Sculpture Center
  • 2023: Multiple fellowships from Michigan State University including Dissertation Completion Fellowship
  • 2014: Fabrica Research Centre Scholarship, Treviso, Italy[10]
  • 2010: Winner, First Ever-Global Online New Face Casting for Benetton

Selected bibliography

Abedinirad's work has been featured in numerous books and publications:

  • Petry, Michael. Mirror: Mirror – The Reflecting Surface in Contemporary Art. London: Thames and Hudson, 2024.
  • Banks, Grace. Art Escapes: Hidden Art Experiences Outside the Museum. Berlin: Gestalten, 2022.
  • Mestaoui, Linda. Green Art: La nature, milieu et matière de creation. France: Editions Alternatives Gallimard, 2018.

Her work has been covered by major publications including Wired,[1] The Paris Review,[21] and featured in international magazines across Germany, Switzerland, France, and Mexico.

References

  1. ^ a b Stinson, Liz (March 5, 2017). "8 Remote Works of Art We Insist You Track Down". Wired. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  2. ^ a b "Faculty & Staff". Utah Valley University. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  3. ^ a b c Mintzer, Jordan (2023). "'Critical Zone' Review: Ali Ahmadzadeh's Subversive Iranian Drug Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  4. ^ a b c d e Lukiy, Kseniya; Popiolek, Kim (April 20, 2023). "Celebrated Iranian Visual Artist Pursues Master's Degree at MSU". Michigan State University College of Arts & Letters. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  5. ^ "2024 Master of Fine Arts Exhibition". MSU Broad Art Museum. March 9 – May 26, 2024. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  6. ^ a b c d Jobson, Christopher (2013). "Mirror Installations by Shirin Abedinirad Reflect the Sky in Stairs and Desert Dunes". Colossal. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  7. ^ Jobson, Christopher (January 28, 2016). "Babel Tower: A Kinetic Mirrored Ziggurat Reflects the Surrounding Iranian Landscape". Colossal. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  8. ^ a b "Studio Secrets with Shirin Abedinirad". Arcual. 2022. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  9. ^ Gragert, Anna (June 3, 2015). "Iranian Artist's Mirror Installations Symbolize the Relationship Between Humans and Nature". My Modern Met. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  10. ^ a b c "Fabrica Research Centre". Benetton Group. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  11. ^ Adams-Dzierzba, Nicholas (July 31, 2015). "Underbelly Arts Festival: Iranian artist wants viewers to take a good long look at themselves". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  12. ^ a b Rhodes, Margaret (February 8, 2016). "Watch a Pyramid of Mirrors Morph Based on Desert Weather". Wired. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  13. ^ a b Ahmed, Siraj (2017). Archaeology of Babel: The Colonial Foundation of the Humanities. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9781503604025.
  14. ^ a b Coslovich, Gabriella (March 16, 2018). "Scavenging art for Landfall: Lorne Sculpture Biennale". The Saturday Paper. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  15. ^ a b "Oku-Noto Triennale 2023". Oku-Noto Triennale. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  16. ^ Jobson, Christopher (August 17, 2015). "A Ziggurat of Mirrors by Shirin Abedinirad Connects the Sky and Ground in Sydney". Colossal. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  17. ^ Bhullar, Dilpreet (October 14, 2020). "Mirrors in the art of Shirin Abedinirad and Ratna Khanna reflect an unseen landscape". Stir World. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  18. ^ "SHIRIN ABEDINIRAD: Reflective Journey". IKT International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  19. ^ "I SEE, I AM". SETAREH X Gallery. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  20. ^ Warren, Anthony (2016). "Female Artists Make a Visible Impact". China Daily. p. 26.
  21. ^ "Shirin Abedinirad". The Paris Review (226): 138–139. 2018.
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