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About Dana Nehdaran

 

Bio

Dana Nehdaran studied painting in Iran and recently migrated to New York. Nehdaran’s portraits captivatingly capture the nostalgia and historical past, seamlessly connecting the past to contemporary culture.  He uses abstraction to highlight the ways in which past and present weave together in both conflict and harmony. (New York City)

Artist Statement

Dana Nehdaran is interested in the process of painting and how it can mirror historical flows. In the past he has addressed this directly through his choices of subject matter – historical photography that is the visual core of the series Esther’s Children. It is during the work on this set of paintings that he discovered a more subtle and material history of iron. Oxidation allowed him to create images that fade into the canvas: unstable surfaces that betray a deeply personal relationship to the images of the past. The current series take this material exploration one step further. Upon his arrival in New York, Dana was surrounded with old iron rebar, beams, storm-water covers and other ironwork that is the backbone of the city.

It is the ordinary visual language, full of rust and beautiful imperfections. It is the most direct manifestation of the history of the city, the structure and the process that can be accessed by mindful observation of the everyday experience. Titled Fe26 (the chemical symbol and atomic number for iron) this new body of work is created in a dialog with his new surroundings. This time, references to photography are gone and what we are left with is documentation of the meticulously controlled process of oxidation. The basic element shows both the history of the creation of the paintings and references its larger geographical context.

Education

2007 – BA Painting, Sooreh University, Shiraz, Iran

2002 – Associate degree, Carpet design, Isfahan, Iran

 

Solo Exhibitions

2013 – Esther’s children, Rira Gallery, Dubai, UAE

2011 – Esther’s children, Shirin Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2010 – My Mona Lisa, Nar Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2008 – The Inside Layers, Morteza Momayez Gallery, Iran Art Organisation, Tehran, Iran

 

Group Exhibitions

2016 – Untitled, Smash Gallery, San Francisco, USA

2016 – On Figures, Vista Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2016 – The Young Artist, Sareban Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2014 – The third Tehran auction, Parsian Azadi Hotel, Tehran, Iran

2014 – Eraser, Shirin art center, Tehran, Iran

2013 – History Game, Etemad Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2013 – Second Tehran auction, Parsian Azadi Hotel, Tehran, Iran

2012 – WONDERLAND, Shokouh Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2012 – First Tehran auction, Parsian Azadi Hotel, Tehran, Iran

2012 – Opening RIRA gallery, Dubai, UAE

2012 – Jinn (painting), Seyhoun Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2012 – Haft Negah (painting), Farhangsara Niavaran, Tehran , Iran

2012 – Magic of Persia, Art Exhibition & Auction Gala, Salsali Private Museum, Dubai, UAE

2012 – Iranian Contemporary Artist (painting), Middle East Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2011 – 1st Modern & Contemporary Visual Art Auction, Tehran, Iran

2011 – Cutting Edge Artists (painting), Mellat Cinema Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2011 – Iranian Painter Association (painting), Contemporary Arts Museum, Isfahan, Iran

2011 – The first Tehran painting market: Barg Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2011 – little dancer (painting), Henna Art gallery, Tehran, Iran

2010 – Young Avant-garde (painting), Mellat Cinema Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2010 – Encyclopaedia Iranica (Charity Art Exhibition), New York, USA

2010 – Auto-portraits II, Silk road gallery ,Tehran, Iran

2010 – Untitled (painting), Art Center, Tehran, Iran

2010 – Untitled (painting), Neel Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2009 – 1001 Colours (painting), Canvas Gallery, New York, USA

2009 – Colours for the Green (painting), Mellat Cinema Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2008 – Global Generation Freiburg Group Exhibition, Freiburg, Germany

2008 – Untitled (painting), Nar Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2007 – Photography Expo, Esteqlal hotel, Tehran, Iran

2007 – Eternal Papers (photography), Contemporary Arts Museum, Isfahan, Iran

 

Professional Experience

2010/2013 Graphic design fpr Ofogh-E-Bina Journal (Tehran Jewish Committe)

2008 – Painter for stage/set for feature film, ‘The Remember’, Iran

2007 – Painter for stage/set for TV series, The Forbidden Fruit, IRIB, Iran

 

Membership

2007-Present – Member of the Iranian Painter Association

 

Competitions

2012 – Selected for 9th Image of the year Festival, Short Film Category for ‘Last Supper’ Iran Art Organization, Tehran, Iran

2011 – Selected for short list of MOP CAP, Traffic gallery, Dubai, UAE

2008 – Selected for Damoonfar Festival, Tehran, Iran

2006 – Selected for Damoonfar Festival, Tehran, Iran

 

Awards

2004 – Winner of Special Prize in Persian New Year Photography, Isfahan, Iran

2003 – Winner of Special Prize in Sketching, Hafezieh Competition, Shiraz, Iran