Quick Facts
Biography
Mehrdad Afsari Persian: مهرداد افسری (born 1977) is an Iranian photographer best known for his artistic and unusual landscapes with a conceptual and philosophical approach.
Life and work
Mehrdad Afsari is an Iranian fine art photographer, documentary film director and video artist. He was born in 1977 in Khoy. He got a B.A. in photography from University of Tehran in 2000 and M.F.A in photography from Tehran University of art in 2006. He has been professor at Tehran University of Art for 14 years. He is an honorary member of Iranian Visual Artists Society.
Since 2001, he has had 14 solo exhibitions in different galleries in Iran and his works have been shown in more than 80 exhibitions around the world such as Iran, China, Germany, US, UAE, Lithuania, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Turkey, Georgia, France, Norway, UK and at Venice Biennial in Italy, Paris Photo in France, Contemporary Art Istanbul in Turkey, Queens Museum of Art (QMA) in USA, MOA Museum of Art, The Reina Sofia Museum in Spain, Georgia Museum of Art, "University of Westminster in London and Tehran museum of contemporary art (TMOCA).
He has also been the Jury member, lecturer and curator of many national and international festivals and exhibitions.
Afsari curated the group exhibition Confined Landscape at Mohsen Gallery in Tehran in 2012 and the group exhibition Winter there in 2015.
Awards and fellowships
- 2005: Third prize, 2nd Iranian Sea Photo Biennial, Iran
- 2006: First prize, 10th Photography Biennial, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran
- 2007: Second prize, 4th Iranian Sea Photo Biennial, Iran
- 2008: "Art Bridge Program", International Arts & Artists, Washington D.C, New York, Charleston, USA
- 2009: Grant winner at "1 sq. Mile Project", Visiting Arts, London
- 2010: Top finalist, Kaunas Photo Star Festival, Kaunas, Lithuania
- 2016: Selected for "Iran and Norway Artist Exchange Program", Bergen, Norway
Publications
Publications by Afsari
- Eye 39: Mehrdad Afsari. Iran: Mahriz, 2010. Compiled by Iman Safaei. ISBN 978-964-94321-7-5. Persian (Farsi) and English text. Edition of 1500 copies.
- The Gradual Disappearance of Things. Iran: Mohsen gallery, 2014. Edition of 1296 copies.
Publications with contributions by Afsari
- La Photography Iranienne. Paris: Loco, 2011.
- Contemporary Iranian Art: New Perspective. London: Saqi, 2013. By Hamid Keshmirshekan. ISBN 978-0863567216.
Collection
Afsari's work is held in the following permanent collection:
- Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art