Jalal Sepehr
b. 1968, Iran

A self-taught photographer, Jalal started taking pictures in 1994 while living in Japan. He adopted an artistic approach that fuses both historical and literary Persian references. Water & Persian Rugs and Knot series, each consisting of 12 photographs, exemplary of his practice, shows a traditional Persian rug used as a pretext for setting up extraordinary situations and for weaving links between History and contemporaneity. Read more in the series statement below!

Credentials

International solo exhibitions
International group exhibitions
Art fair participant
Biennale participant
Media coverage

Series Statement

Water and Persian Rugs

On most of the occasions when we start thinking about doing something, that particular thought dose not proceed the way we expect. We may run into lots of ideas that we should pay close attention to as we go forward. From time to time, a planned work can be made to come true in the background even better than on the stage. This is particularly true of my series Water and Persian rugs, in which an unexpected environment was created between the event and the moment.

What inspired me to take these photos was creating new moments, color contrasts, a diverse quality, and making the rugs float and dance in the water.

Selected Exhibitions

2021 'Raw Emotion', Iranian contemporary, Iran
2021 Virtual group exhibition, IS10 Gallery, London, UK
2019 Silence Meal Project, Trafo Center for contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany
2019 'Tir Art' art fair, Tehran, Iran
2019 'Life Documents', Negah Gallery , Tehran, Iran
2019 'Emerging Iranian Art', LS10 Gallery, London, UK
2019 Shahr International Visual Art festival Pardis Mellat, Tehran, Iran
2019 Iran Visual poetries, Photo Gaspesie, Montreal, Canada
2019 'Paris Photo', Silk Road Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2019 'A few Days in Between', Arta Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2019 'Iranian Contemporary Photography', Durev Gallery, Paris, France
2018 'Paris Photo', Silk Road gallery, Tehran, Iran
2018 Dubai's annual photography festival, GPP Photo Week
2018 'Women', Negah Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2017 'Iran:Year 38', Arles Photography Festival
2017 'Paris Photo', Silk Road gallery, Tehran, Iran
2016 'As Far as the Eye Can See', Officine Dell'Immagine, Milan, Italy
2015 Galerie Isabelle Gounod, Paris, France
2010 Abu Dhabi art fair, Silk road gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2009 'Water & Persian rugs', Paris photo, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
2009 The Prix De La Photographie, Paris, France
2009 19th International Biennial of Humour and Satire in the Arts, Gabrovo, Bulgaria
2007–2009 The 29th International Photo Festival, Knokke Heist, Belgium
2006 Fanoos Photo Slide Show, Tehran: House of Artists, Tehran, Iran
2006 Fanoos Photo Slide Show, International Art Photography Fair, Slovakia

Publications

2007–2010 Al-Thani Award Book
2007 Around the Life
2009 Different sames New Perspectives In contemporary Iranian Art. Thames & Hodson
2008 Iranian Photography Now
2007 Knokke - Heist Photo Festival
2004–2007 Shipping Festival of Iran

Awards

2016 Finalist of Codice MIA IV Edition photo fair Milan, Italy
2016 Finalist of london International Creative Competition in photography Section
2015 Third place,nature section, International Photography Awards MIFA
2014 International Photography Awards IPA-USA The second prize in nature category
2011 Selected Winner of Iranian Persbook Festival
2011 The first prize in entrepreneurship category for Entrepreneurship Photo Contest, Tehran, Iran
2010 First title, Job creation. Photo festival
2007 First prize, Postcard competition of the Canadian Association for Photography Art
2005 Second place, Ship and Seafarers, The Second Photo Festival of Sea, Iran
2004 First place, Ship and Seafarers, The First Photo Festival of Sea, Iran
2003 Third place, Industrial photography festival. Tehran: Ministry of the Interior, Tehran, Iran

Jalal Sepehr b. 1968, Iran

Jalal Sepehr
b. 1968, Iran