زندگی‌نامه
سمیرا اسکندرفر نقاش، فیلمساز، نویسنده در سال ١٣۵٩ در شهر تهران متولد شده است. او تحصیلات خود را در رشته ى مهندسى مواد آغاز کرد و پس از دو سال به خاطر علاقه ی بسیار به هنر آن را رها کرده و رشته ی کارگردانی انیمیشن را در دانشگاه هنر شروع کرد. وی تا کنون بیست و چهار نمایشگاه انفرادى نقاشى و عکس و ویدئو آرت برگزار کرده است. آثار او در بیش از هشتاد نمایشگاه گروهی در داخل و خارج از ایران نمایش داده شده است. وی همچنین خالق دو فیلم بلند و هجده فیلم کوتاه است و آثار او در موزه هایی چون موزه تیت بریتانیا و موزه ان.بی.کی آلمان نگهداری می شود.
بیانیه
آثار سمیرا اسکندرفر بر اساس تاثیریست که «زندگی» بر او داشته‌است. شیوه‌های بیانی و کانسپت آثارش همواره نسبتی با خودش و نگاهش به پیرامون دارد. بیشتر آثار او به نوعی یک خودنگاره محسوب می‌شوند؛ یک خودبیانگری ویژه که نقش مهمی در آثارش ایفا کرده. خود او هم در مصاحبه‌های مختلف بر این موضوع صحه می‌گذارد و اعتقاد دارد حتی وقتی پرتره یک مرد را به تصویر می‌کشد، باز هم در حال خلق و ارائه تصویری از خود است. او می گوید: “من فکر می‌کنم هر هنرمندی پیش از آن‌که بخواهد روی هنر خود کار کند باید روی زندگی خود کار کند. کاری که من در تمام این سال‌ها انجام داده‌ام این است که زندگی کرده‌ام به شدیدترین و عمیق‌ترین شکلی که می‌توانستم و از پس آن برمی‌آمدم و اجازه دادم که تجربهٔ زندگی روی من اثر بگذارد و همواره تولیداتی که داشته‌ام نتیجهٔ همین شیوهٔ زندگی بوده‌است.”
نمایشگاه‌های انفرادی، "هیچ مایی در کار نیست" ، گالری اکنون، تهران، ایران ۱۳٩۸ نمایشگاه‌های انفرادی، "اتاق الکل" ، گالری الف و ب هان، تهران، ایران ۱۳٩۸ نمایشگاه‌های انفرادی، "زخم" ، گالری طراحان آزاد، تهران، ایران ١٣٩٧ نمایشگاه انفرادى، "دوتایی‌ها"، گالری طراحان آزاد، تهران، ایران ١٣٩٧ نمایشگاه انفرادى، "چی تو سرته؟"، گالری طراحان آزاد، تهران، ایران ١٣٩۶ نمایشگاه انفرادى، "نمایش باید ادامه پیدا کند"، گالری زیرزمین دستان، تهران، ایران ١٣٩۶ نمایش فیلم، "عصب کشى"، گالری شماره ۶، تهران، ایران ١٣٩۵ نمایشگاه انفرادى، هرگز فراموشم نکن، گالری شماره ۶، تهران، ایران ١٣٩۵ نمایشگاه انفرادى، گالری گدوک، مونیخ، آلمان ١٣٩٣ نمایشگاه انفرادى، "من خودم نیستم"، گالری آران، تهران، ایران ۱۳۹۲ نمایشگاه انفرادى، من اینجا هستم، من اینجا نیستم، سازماناب، تهران، ایران ۱۳۹۱ نمایشگاه انفرادى، "میکی ماسک"، گالری محسن، تهران، ایران ١٣٩٠ نمایشگاه انفرادى، کمپوت لحظه‌ها، گالری محسن، تهران، ایران ١٣٩٠ نمایشگاه انفرادى، "تو منو به گریه می‌اندازی"، گالری محسن، تهران، ایران ١٣٩٨ نمایشگاه انفرادى، "دلقک‌ها بچه دار نمی‌شوند"، گالری طراحان آزاد، تهران، ایران ١٣٨٨ نمایشگاه انفرادى، "آرامش خیلی بزرگ"، گالری طراحان آزاد، تهران، ایران ١٣٧٨ نمایشگاه انفرادى، "زیرزمین"، گالری طراحان آزاد، تهران، ایران ١٣٨٧ نمایشگاه انفرادى، "پراکندگی"، گالری ماه، تهران، ایران ١٣٨۶ نمایشگاه انفرادى، "من، شلی، مری، تو"، گالری دی، تهران، ایران ١٣٨۶ نمایشگاه انفرادى، "صورت‌های دیگر"، گالری لاله، تهران، ایران ١٣٨۵ نمایشگاه انفرادى، "عکس های خانوادگی"، گالری دی، تهران، ایران ١٣٨۴ نمایشگاه انفرادى، "چیزی از دست رفته"، گالری طراحان آزاد، تهران، ایران ١٣٨٣ نمایشگاه انفرادى، "بانوی زیبای من"، گالری لاله، تهران، ایران ١٣٨٣ نمایشگاه انفرادى، ته‌مانده‌های روز، گالری لاله، تهران، ایران ١٣٨٢ نمایشگاه انفرادى، "بهت"، گالری طراحان آزاد، تهران، ایران ١٣٨٣
Biogrphy
Samira Eskandarfar, born 1980, lives and works in Tehran, Iran. In 2004 she graduated in Film Making and Animation from Young Filmmakers Society and since then she has held twenty-one solo exhibitions in Paintings, Photography and video Arts. She has participated in eighty group exhibitions and screenings in Iran and Internationally at various galleries, museums and film festivals. She has done workshops with the legendary Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami and she has made two feature films, eighteen videos and short films which some were acquired by major collections including the London Tate Modern and Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (NBK) in Berlin. She recently finished making her second feature film “Treadmill”.
Statement
Samira Eskanderfar’s work is based on the impact that “life” has had on her. The expressive and conceptual ways of her expressions are always related to herself and her view her surroundings. Most of her work is a kind of self-portrait; a special self-expression that has played an important role in her works. she also confirms this fact in various interviews, believing that even when she depicts a portrait of a man, she is still creating and presenting herself. She says: “I think every artist has to work on her life before she wants to work on her art. All I’ve done in all these years is to live my life at its strongest and deepest way that I can and I’ve been through it, and I’ve allowed the experience of life to affect me, and the productions. All I ever created has been the result of that lifestyle. ”
Collections
Tate Modern
NBK (Neuer Berliner Kunstverein) Video-Forum
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2018 “Wound”, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2018 “Doubles”, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2017 “What’s in your head”, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2016 “Root Canal”, No.6 Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2016 “Show must go on”, Dastan’s Basement Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2015 No.6 Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2014 Gedok Gallery, Munich, Germany
2013 “I’m Not Me”, Aaran Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2012 “I’m Here, I’m Not Here”, Sazmanab Center for Contemporary Art, Tehran, Iran
2011 “Mickey Mask”, Mohsen Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2011 “Compote Of Moments”, Mohsen Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2010 “You make me cry”, Mohsen Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2009 “Clowns Can’t Have Babies”, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2008 “The Massive Calm”, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2008 “Underground”, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2007 “The Dispersion”, Maah Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2006 “I, Sheli, Mori & You”, Day Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2006 “Other Faces”, Laleh Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2005 “Family Photos”, Day Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2004 “Something is Gone”, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2004 “My Fair Lady”, Laleh Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2003 “Remains of the Day”, Laleh Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2003 “Amazement”, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Selected Group Exhibitions
2018 “In between (Part II): So Far“, Mana Contemporary Museum, NY, USA, Curated by Shahram Karimi
2018 “ICH SEHE, ICH BIN“, Setareh Gallery, Duesseldorf, Germany, Curated by Shahram Karimi
2017 “Possible Worlds“, Kunstraum Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
2017 “Wish you were here”, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2016 “What Film”, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2014 “A Woman Is Worth A Thousand Questions: Alternative Media From Iran”, REDCAT, LA, USA
Curated by Steve Anker and Bérénice Reynaud
2014 “Democracy: Possibilities and Impossibilities”, Art Konsult, New Delhi, India
Curated by Amit Mukhopadhyay
2014 “Nietzsche was a man”, Malmö Konsthall, Malmo, Sweden
Curated by Neda Darzi and Alysse Stepanian
2014 “Democracy: Possibilities and Impossibilities”, Nandan, Kala Bhavan, Visva-bharati, Santiniketan, India
Curated by Amit Mukhopadhyay
2013 “A Beweller of Newadays”, Vista Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Curated by Arash Tanhai
2013 “Nietzsche was a man”, Museo Ex-Teresa Arte Actual, Mexico City, Mexico
Curated by Neda Darzi and Alysse Stepanian
2013 “The Fascination of Persia”, Museum Reitberg, Zurich, Switzerland
Curated by Susann Wintsch
2013 “LA CAJA BLANCA”, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
2013 “SubTehran: Subjective Truth from Iran”, Center of Contemporary Art Tbilisi (CCA-T), Tbilisi, Georgia
Curated by Sohrab Kashani
2013 “STILL LIVES & SELECTED ACTS”, Dastan Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Curated by Sohrab Kashani and Sandra Skurvida
2013 “Wrong Illusion”, Cultural Center E-WERK, Freiburg, Germany
2012 “Alternative view”, Pardis Cinema-Gallery Complex, Tehran, Iran
Curated by Farnaz Mohammadi
2012 “Gender and Exposure in Contemporary Iranian Photography”, Wells College, NYC, USA
Curated by Andrea Fitzpatrick
2012 “Gender and Exposure in Contemporary Iranian Photography”, Gallery 44, Toronto, Canada
Curated by Andrea Fitzpatrick
2012 “Ciphers: Tension with Tradition in Contemporary Iranian Photography”, SAW Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
Curated by Andrea Fitzpatrick
2011 Expo, Shirin Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2011 The 1st Tehran Annual Digital Art Exhibition, Mohsen Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Curated by Sohrab Kashani
2011 Art Dubai 2011 (Mah Art Gallery, Booth B30), Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE
2011 “Body Language In The Eyes Of Iranian Artists”, FA Gallery, Kuwait, Kuwait
Curated by Simin Dehghani
2011 The 5th anniversary of Shirin Art Gallery, Shirin Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Organized by Shirin Art Gallery
2010 Magical Nights Silent Auction 2010, Yas Hotel, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi
Curated by Fereydoun Ave
2010 “Big Lie”, Mohsen Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Curated by Farid Jafari Samarghandi
2010 “To Paint Cinema”, Mohsen Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Curated by Behnam Kamrani
2010 “Tehran to London: New Painting from Iran”, Jill George Gallery, London, UK
2009 “89″, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Curated by Azita Sharafjahan
2009 “Exposed”, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2009 “Other”, Mohsen Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Curated by Ali Ettehad
2009 “How did you spend your summer?”, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2009 “Inside Teheran Out”, Forum Schlossplatz, Aarau, Switzerland
Curated by Susann Wintch
2008 “Urban Jealousy: The 1st Intl. Roaming Biennial of Tehran”, Istanbul, Turkey – Belgrade, Serbia
Curated by Amirali Ghasemi and Serhat Koksal
2008 “Between the window and viewing”, Aria Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Curated by Solmaz Naraghi
2008 Saba Cultural Center, Tehran, Iran
2007 Sa’dabaad Palace, Tehran, Iran
Organized by Iranian Painters’ Society
2007 “Radical Drawing”, Tehran Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Curated by Vahid Sharifian
2007 “The song of nightingales from oil rich fields”, Isfahan Museum of Contemporary Arts, Isfahan, Iran
Curated by Vahid Sharifian
2007 “Silent Messages”, Middle-East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
Curated by Helia Darabi
2007-2008 “Wishes and Dreams”, Touring exhibition, Washington D.C. – NYC, USA
Organized by Meridian International Center
2007 Mah Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2007 “Caravan”, Shiraz Art Gallery, Venice, Italy
Curated by Rosita Sharafjahan
2007 “Auto-portrait”, Iranian Artists’ Forum, Tehran, Iran
2007 “All of my Mothers”, Bahman Cultural Center, Tehran, Iran
2006 Laleh Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2006 Azad Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2006 Isfahan Museum of Contemporary Art, Isfahan, Iran
2006 Day Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2005 The opening of Day Art Gallery, Day Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2004 University of Sciences, Zanjan, Iran
As a guest-member of Dena group
2004 The 6th Tehran Contemporary Painting Biennial, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts, Tehran, Iran
2003 Laleh Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2002 Bahman Cultural Center, Tehran, Iran
Curated by Hannibal Alkhas
2001 Laleh Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Participation
2011 AVIFF Video International Film Festival, La Croisette, Cannes, France
2010 “SancionedArray”, NYC, US
2010 AVIFF Video International Film Festival, La Croisette, Cannes, France
2007 Corida Film Festival, Toulouse, France
2007 Iraan Film Festival, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2007 Tassvir-e Sal (Image of the Year), Iranian Artists’ Forum, Tehran, Iran
2006 Abbas Kiarostami’s workshop (Carpet), Karnameh Art & Cultural Center, Tehran, Iran
2004 The 6th Tehran Contemporary Painting Biennial, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts, Tehran, Iran
Filmography
2017 “Treadmill”, 70 min
2014 “I am Home”
2013 “Root Canal”, 70 min
2012 “I am Here”
2012 “I’m Not Here”
2011 “Breathing under water”
2010 “Happy Birthday to You”
2009 “Olive”
2008 “Commode”
2007 “Inside a room”
2006 “Miss Shamsi and her Carpet”
2006 “Path”
2006 “A Dowry for Mahrou”
2006 “Rugs & Men”
2006 “Old Landscape”
2005 “Monologue under the white light”
2004 “I’m Vertical”
2003 “Amazement”
Selected Screenings
2018 “Treadmill”, New Media Society, Tehran, Iran
2015 “A Dowry for Mahrou,”, Bielefeld Museum, Germany
2012 “Close To My Heart”, CologneOFF 2012 Morocco, Digital Marrakech 3, Marrakech city, Morocco
Curated by Alysse Stepanian
2012 “mise en abyme”, “Cinematica /Iran”, Cinemaica Film Festival, La Elastica, Montreal, Canada
Curated by Sandra Skurvida
2012 “mise en abyme”, Sazmanab Platform for Contemporary Arts, Tehran, Iran
Curated by Sandra Skurvida
2012 “mise en abyme”, Cité international des Arts, Paris, France
Curated by Sandra Skurvida
2012 “[UN]PAIRED”, Kulter, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2012 “IRANIAN CONTEMPORARY ART – Searching for Identity?”, Kunstverein, Bonn, Germany
2012 ” Close To My Heart”, Cologne OFF 2012, CeC 2012, Carnival of e-Creativity, Sattal Estate, India
Curated by Alysse Stepanian
2011 AVIFF Video International Film Festival, La Croisette, Cannes, France
Curated by Camilo Racana
2011 “Close To My Heart”, CologneOFF 2011 Baltic Sea, Tallinn, Estonia
Curated by Alysse Stepanian
2011 “Close To My Heart”, CologneOFF 2011 Baltic Sea, Tampere, Finland
Curated by Alysse Stepanian
2011 “Close To My Heart”, CologneOFF 2011 Baltic Sea, St. Petersburg, Russia
Curated by Alysse Stepanian
2011 “Close To My Heart”, CologneOFF 2011 Baltic Sea, Szczecin, Poland
Curated by Alysse Stepanian
2011 “Close To My Heart”, CologneOFF 2011, Arad Art Museum, Romania
Curated by Alysse Stepanian
2011 “Close To My Heart”, CologneOFF 2011, Cologne, Germany
Curated by Alysse Stepanian
2011 “Time is Love”, Sint-Lukas Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Curated by Kisito Assangni
2011 “Time is Love”, Kulter, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Curated by Kisito Assangni
2010 “SanctionedArray”, Big Screen Project / White Box, NYC, US
2010 “Human Emotion Project”, Sazmanab Platform for Contemporary Arts, Tehran, Iran
Curated by Sohrab Kashani and Alison Williams
2010 AVIFF Video International Film Festival, La Croisette, Cannes, France
Curated by Camilo Racana
2009 Limited Access 2, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Curated by Amirali Ghasemi
2009 “Inside Teheran Out”, Forum Schlossplatz, Aarau, Switzerland
Curated by Susann Wintch
2007 Corida Film Festival, Toulouse, France
2007 Iraan Film Festival, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2007 Tassvir-e Sal (Image of the Year) 2007, Iranian Artists’ Forum, Tehran, Iran
Organized by Seifollah Samadian
2007 “Retracing Territories”, Friart Art Gallery, Fribourg, Switzerland
2007 “Caravan”, Shiraz Art Gallery, Venice, Italy
Curated by Rosita Sharafjahan
2007 “Silent Messages”, Middle-East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
Curated by Helia Darabi
2006 “Analyze While Waiting”, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Curated by Susann Wintsch
Selected for Treibsand DVD Magazine
2006 Limited Access 1, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Curated by Amirali Ghasemi
Jury
1st Video Artist Video Festival, Isfahan, Iran
Panels
2012 44 Gallery, Toronto, Canada / with Andrea Fitzpatrick and Amirali Ghasemi
Publications
Samira Eskandarfar, 2018, Wound/Zakhm Book