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Maliheh Zafarnezhad
b. 1981, Iran

Maliheh Zafarnezhad (b. 1981, Iran), is a practiced and educated Irish-Iranian artist and art teacher with more than two decades of experience in multidisciplinary fine art, painting, and mixed-media, a resident of V.O Curations Angel in London, and M.A. in Art and Architecture. Maliheh's artistic and professional profile has been recognized internationally, invited to hold art exhibitions, workshops, and speeches, contributing to art magazines worldwide, such as Iran, Ireland, Germany, USA, and UAE across different fine art disciplines.

Inspirations for her artworks mainly come from a multi-national identity, mixed culture, immigration experiences, and childhood memories from Iran. Maliheh has spent the majority of her life in her birth country, where she was forced to navigate a labyrinth of gender limitations. As a result, the majority of Maliheh's paintings feature female portraits with thought-provoking statements about love, sentiments, loyalty, obligation, and social issues. Maliheh's primary mediums are acrylic gel transfer and collage. By combining photos from her personal antique family photos with archival photos of historical artwork, the collage pieces decontextualize images. These works could be interpreted as passionate attempts to carefully touch and stir the highest human emotions, as well as to sketch out the contradictions and complexities of identity.

Durham University's Oriental Museum has acquired one of her works to add to their permanent collection. Maliheh Zafarnezhad is a resident of Arts Central in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom.

Credentials

Solo exhibitions
Group exhibitions

Series Statement

"The artworks chosen are from the series Objects of Memories. Objects of Memories is a series of artworks that I developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Experiencing a completely new daily life smeared by anxiety, the fear of isolation, the terrifying feeling of losing close ones, have all led me to experience a new embodiment of materials and objects such as wood, mirror, ceramics, and a mannequin.

Using the photo transfer process, I created multi-layered collages over the surfaces of various items and surfaces using my personal outdated family images and archival photos of historical illustrations. These paintings could be interpreted as passionate attempts to carefully touch and stimulate the highest human emotions, as well as to highlight the ambiguities and complexities of identity."

Education

2013 MA in History of Art and Architecture, University of Limerick, Ireland

Solo Exhibitions

2024 'Interwoven Narratives', V.O Curations Tower Hill, London
2020 ‘Manipulated Memories’, online exhibition, Journey Festival
2018 Milton Keynes central library, London, UK
2017 Art Central Gallery, London, UK
2009 Solo exhibition, Tehran, Iran,

Group Exhibitions

2024 'Boundless, Binding', Subliminal Projects x Emergeast, Los Angeles, USA
2023 Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, London, UK
2023 Voices, Contemporary Art and Design from the Middle East and North Africa , Oriental Museum, Durham University, Durham, UK
2023 Eine Moglichkeit, group exhibition, Graz, Austria
2023 'Our very Own', MK Gallery Project Space
2022 'An Image of Us', online group exhibition, Inja Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2022 'Crossing', V.O Curations Angel, London, UK
2022 'The Human Factor', Star Brewery Gallery, Lewes, UK
2021 Behnood Foundation group exhibition, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, UAE
2021 'Painting at Night', Artlink Contemporary Gallery, Fort Wayne, IN, USA
2021 'Mythical Mother', Spilt Milk gallery, Edinburgh
2020 Woolwich contemporary print fair, Royal Arsenal, London, UK
2020 ‘Shape Shift’, Through This Lens Gallery, Durham, UK
2019 Training Montage, Pineapple Black Gallery, Middlesbrough, UK
2019 Creative Incubator Programme, Lungs Project
2018 ‘The Female Gaze’, Theatre Deli London, London, UK
2018 'With my roots', Asia House, London, UK
2018 KHP Ateliers, Dusseldorf, Germany
2017 'MK Calling', MK Gallery, London, UK
2016 Cornerstone Gallery, London, UK
2016 Art Central Gallery, London, UK
2016 6th Annual of Iranian Contemporary
art, Niavaran Cultural Centre, Tehran, Iran
2015 'This Forever Together We Raised
Some Hell', Occupy Space Gallery, Limerick, Ireland
2014 Galway Fringe festival, Galway, Ireland
2014 Hive Emerging Artist, Waterford, Ireland
2013 Intercultural Winter Arts Exhibition, CFCP, Dublin, Ireland
2013 Installation (4th annual of Iranian contemporary art), Tehran, Iran
2012 Group exhibition, Waterford, Ireland
2012 Art Expo Exhibition, Tehran, Iran
2010 Student Exhibition, Dublin, Ireland
2007 In the Memory of Master Termeh-Chi, Mashhad, Iran
2006 Group exhibition, Mashhad, Iran