Sheida Soleimani
Medium of Exchange from Harlan Levey Projects on Vimeo.
Through photography, film, performance and sculpture, Sheida Soleimani offers both a poignant analysis of image-building in the contemporary media landscape and a critical view on international politics and its power relationships. Source images from press and social media are transformed into staged sets and documented with a camera. As unspoken truths are turned towards the grotesque in confrontational and overtly patchworked scenes, Soleimani sheds light on the coded way (political) messages are disseminated in a global context while satirizing both East and West. In doing so she unveils a barely covered-up reality that is no less surreal than the images constructed in her studio. A daughter of political refugees persecuted by the Iranian government in the 1980s, Soleimani’s practice explores the intersections of art and activism.
Soleimani received her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2015. She recently exhibited her work in solo exhibitions at Photoforum Pasquart (CH), Providence College Galleries (US) and Castello San Basilio (IT). Her exhibition Medium of Exchange was shown at Contemporary Arts Center (Cincinnati, US), Atlanta Contemporary (US), and CUE Arts Foundation (New York, US), among others. In 2019 she had a solo exhibition at the Southern Utah Museum of Art (US), and participated in the deCordova Biennial (Lincoln, US). Her work has been recognized internationally in both exhibitions and publications, such as Artforum, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Interview Magazine, and Hyperallergic. Soleimani resides in Providence (US), where she is a professor of studio art at Brandeis University.
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MUSEUM EXHIBITION | Sheida Soleimani
Group exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the African American Museum in Philadelphia. March 23, 2023Sheida Soleimani is participating in Rising Sun: Artists in an Uncertain America, a group exhibition organised at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and...Read more -
PRESS | Sheida Soleimani
"Rising Sun: Artists in an Uncertain America" in The New York Times March 23, 2023Sheida Soleimani's contribution to Rising Sun: Artists in an Uncertain America, a group exhibition organised at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the...Read more -
EXHIBITION | Sheida Soleimani
Solo exhibition at Edel Assanti February 24, 2023Sheida Soleimani's exhibition Ghostwriter at Edel Assanti in London, United Kingdom, will be on view from 16 March until 29 April 2023. More info can...Read more -
PRESS | Sheida Soleimani
"Eyes on Iran" in Vogue December 16, 2022Sheida Soleimani's contribution to Eyes on Iran was talked about in Vogue. 'At times hot political content combines with an art that is slow to...Read more -
PRESS | Sheida Soleimani
"Credible Threats" selected as "Must-see exhibition" by Artforum December 9, 2022Sheida Soleimani's solo exhibition Credible Threats at Harlan Levey Projects 1050 was selected as a 'must-see' by Artforum. Visit the exhibition until 17 December 2022.Read more -
PRESS | Sheida Soleimani
"Eyes on Iran" on Cultured December 9, 2022Sheida Soleimani's work Mahsa, currently included in the outdoor exhibition Eyes on Iran, was discussed on Cultured. 'Other Iranian artists and activists are of course...Read more -
PRESS | Sheida Soleimani
"Eyes on Iran" in The New York Times December 9, 2022Sheida Soleimani's contribution to Eyes on Iran was mentioned in The New York Times. 'A hand holds a burning white hijab. Scattered behind it are...Read more -
PRESS | Sheida Soleimani
Article in Aperature December 8, 2022Sheida Soleimani's newest series Absolute Powers was discussed by Haleh Anvari in an article for Aperature. Read the full article here .Read more -
EXHIBITION | Sheida Soleimani
Group exhibition at New York’s FDR Four Freedoms State Park December 2, 2022Sheida Soleimani is participating in Eyes on Iran a multi-day group installation at New York’s FDR Four Freedoms State Park. Eyes on Iran aims to...Read more -
PRESS | Sheida Soleimani
Interview with Mondiaal Nieuws November 25, 2022Sheida Soleimani was interviewed by Mondiaal Nieuws on the occasion of her second solo exhibition in Brussels Credible Threats. Read the full interview (in Dutch)...Read more -
PRESS | Sheida Soleimani
Interview with Lenscratch November 18, 2022Sheida Soleimani was interviewed by Vicente Cayuela for Lenscratch. 'Photography itself can be an act of aggression. Aiming, shooting, distorting and cutting are all violent...Read more -
PRESS | Sheida Soleimani
Interview with Bruzz November 12, 2022Kurt Snoeckx for Bruzz recently sat down with Sheida Soleimani for an interview on her solo exhibition Credible Threats at Harlan Levey Projects 1050. Read...Read more -
EXHIBITION | Sheida Soleimani
Solo exhibition at Harlan Levey Projects November 12, 2022Harlan Levey Projects is pleased to present Credible Threats, Sheida Soleimani's second solo exhibition with the gallery. The exhibition opens on 12 November at Harlan...Read more -
EXHIBITION | Sheida Soleimani
Sheida Soleimani in group exhibition at The Living Art Museum March 18, 2022Sheida Soleimani is part of the group exhibition 'IMMUNE ' in The Living Art Museum in Reykjavík, Iceland. The exhibition is the result of collaboration...Read more -
EXHIBITION | Sheida Soleimani
Sheida Soleimani in group exhibition in ACC Galerie Weimer February 14, 2022Sheida Soleimani is showing her work at the group exhibition 'Denunziation! ' in ACC Galerie Weimer. The show is on display from 12 December 2021...Read more -
PRESS | Sheida Soleimani
Interview in BOMB Magazine September 27, 2021Cassie Packard interviewed Sheida Soleimani for BOMB Magazine. Read the full article about critique, care, and photographic representation hereRead more -
FAIR | Sheida Soleimani
Participation in UNBOUND at UNSEEN Amsterdam September 12, 2021Harlan Levey Projects and Edel Assanti are pleased to announce their collaboration at UNSEEN Amsterdam in the section 'UNBOUND '. Together we will be presenting...Read more -
PUBLICATION | Sheida Soleimani
Publication with Dais Books October 27, 2022Sheida Soleimani published her first book Medium of Exchange with Dais Books. It focuses on the series Medium of Exchange, exposing the oil industry’s entanglement...Read more -
PRESS | Sheida Soleimani
Sheida Soleimani in The New York Times magazine August 10, 2022The New York Times magazine published an article about Sheida Soleimani, where she talks about her body of work Ghostwriter, currently on display in Providence...Read more -
PRESS | Sheida Soleimani
Sheida Soleimani in Boston Art Review June 2, 2022Art historian and curator Dr. Jordan Amirkhani wrote a sensitive and thorough essay about Sheida Soleimani's practice and her exhibition at the Smith Center for...Read more -
EXHIBITION | Sheida Soleimani
Solo exhibition at Castello San Basilio, Italy April 29, 2022After finishing her residency at Castello San Basilio, Italy, Sheida Soleimani shows a new body of work titled Pillars of Industry. The exhibition presents five...Read more -
EXHIBITION | Sheida Soleimani
Solo exhibition at Photoforum Pasquart, Biel April 19, 2022Sheida Soleimani's solo exhibition at Photoforum Pasquart in Biel is part of the programme, Seeing Through Clouds, and will run in concurrence with Emmanuel Van...Read more -
EXHIBITION | Sheida Soleimani
Solo exhibition at Providence College Galleries April 7, 2022Sheida Soleimani is currently showing her work in On the Wall: Sheida Soleimani , a solo exhibition in Reilly Gallery, Smith Center for the Arts...Read more -
PRESS | Sheida Soleimani
Sheida Soleimani in Fisheye Magazine March 31, 2022Sheida Soleimani's work was selected by Fisheye Magazine's as 'this month's photographic obsession': 'Découverte récente, coup de foudre artistique, ou même artiste phare… Dans chaque...Read more -
PRESS | Sheida Soleimani
Sheida Soleimani in online talk with ACC Galerie Weimar March 31, 2022Sheida Soleimani talks to ACC Galerie Weimer about her work and connection to the topic of (post-)colonial history on MONDAY NIGHT STREAM #33. You can...Read more -
PRESS | Sheida Soleimani
Commission for The New York Times April 9, 2021The New York Times asked Sheida Soleimani to consider 'what fun looks like now'. The result is a series of 7 images that examine coping...Read more -
PRESS | Sheida Soleimani
Interview in Phroom Magazine March 24, 2021Phroom Magazine sat down with Sheida Soleimani for an in-depth conversation on her practice and her background as an American-Iranian artist. You can read the...Read more -
PRESS | Sheida Soleimani
"5 Artists on Our Radar This March" on Artsy March 4, 2021Artsy picked Sheida Soleimani as one of the '5 Artists on Our Radar This March. 'Read more