Hayv Kahraman

Hayv Kahraman (born 1981) is a Los Angeles-based[1] Kurdish-american artist. She primarily paints, but also sculpts and sketches.[2] Her works reflect the controversial issues of gender, specifically concerning female identity in relation to her experiences as a refugee, and all issues that plague her home country of Iraq. She explores the victimization of women within their own culture, and the effects of their subjugation which causes them the most suffering in the midst of war.[2] She paints on linen panels and depicts dark haired, pale skinned women and decorates her work with Islamic geometric patterns. Her influences range from Persian, Japanese and Italian Renaissance paintings.[3] Her works juxtapose traditional Eastern and Western beauty standards.[3]

Hayv Kahraman
Born
Hayv Kahraman

1981
Baghdad, Iraq
NationalityIraqi American
EducationUmeå University
Known forPainting, Drawing, Sculpture
Websitehayvkahraman.com

She was born in Iraq in 1981. Her family fled to Sweden in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War (1990-1991).[1] Hayv lives and works in California, United States.[4]

Life and career

Born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1981.[5][6] During the Iran War, Hayv spent a lot of her time in the basement of her uncle's house. Her relatives would all huddle around candles and play card games.[7] While living in Iraq, she attended the Music and Ballet School in central Baghdad. One night, her family packed their car and hired a smuggler to take them where it was safe. They had reached the Stockholm Arlanda, the airport in Sweden, and this is when she became a refugee. She then moved to Sweden at the age of 11. She enrolled in music and ballet classes, but decided to leave due to the teacher's racism. She began oil painting at the age of 12 and later had several successful exhibitions in Sweden. She studied at the Academy of Art and Design in Florence, Italy. She lives and works in California.[8]

Kahraman's artwork depict the effects of war, and how they affect women. Her wide stylistic references range from Japanese and Arabic calligraphy art nouveau, Persian miniature[9] and Greek iconography.[10]

Works

War-aq, the Arabic word for playing cards, is a very personal group of her works. She combined the idea of a scattered deck of cards with the experiences of five million displaced Iraqis. Migrant 11 is a series of a contorted dancer that refers to the deformation of the self due to migration. This work relates to her personal experience of attending the music and ballet school in central Baghdad. Migrant 3 is a self portrait of herself cutting off her tongue to represent the loss of language and communication through her life experiences. Re-Weaving Migrant Inscriptions (2017) is a series of paintings that recalls the traditional Iraqi woven fan, or mahaffa, by cutting and weaving sections of her oil-painted self portraits, constructing a narrative of forced exile, displacement and cultural assimilation.[11]

Not Quite Human (2019)

Not Quite Human was exhibited at the Jack Shainman Gallery in Chelsea. Several oil on linen paintings. Female figures are depicted bending their bodies into a collection of extreme positions. Kahraman’s paintings transmit strength, distress, submission and erotism all at the same time.[12]

Exhibitions

Kahraman has participated in group shows extensively since 2003. Her solo exhibitions include shows at the Third Line Gallery in Dubai, the Frey Norris Gallery in San Francisco, the Thierry Goldberg Projects in New York. the Hälsingland Museum in Hudiksvall, Sweden, the Jack Shainman Gallery in New York, the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, and the Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects.[13]

Solo exhibitions[13][14][15]

Honolulu Museum: Superfluous Bodies (March 23, 2019-August 4, 2019)

Her works in this exhibition juxtapose traditional Eastern and Western beauty standards

Abu Dhabi Art 2017 (November 8-11 2017)

The Third Line Gallery: Dubai

In 2017 her work was shown at a solo presentation. It was associated with the exhibit Focus: Beyond Territory. The works included are a part of Kahraman’s series Mnemonic Object where she explored the subjective quality of past memories.

1: Audible Inaudible (September 18-October 22, 2016)

The Third Line Gallery: Dubai

Hayv Kahraman’s fourth solo show in Dubai. Kahraman uses linen, wood and paper and tells a story of her personal trauma after the Persian Gulf War as an Iraqi immigrant.

Present Future PF4 (November 6-8 2015)

The Third Line Gallery: Dubai

A solo presentation of Kahraman’s work that explores her identity as an Iraqi.

Art Subai 2014 (March 19-22 2014)

The Third Line Gallery: Dubai

Two solo presentations exhibiting her works alongside Farhad Moshiri.

Extimacy (October 24-November 29 2012)

The Third Line Gallery: Dubai This exhibit explored gender and gender identity. It explored self perception contrasted with society’s expectations.

Pins and Needles 2010

The Third Line Gallery: Dubai, Frey Norris Gallery: San Francisco Seven Gates, Green Cardamom: London

Her debut solo exhibit in the UAE. Kahraman explored the struggle of feminist anthropology and the contrast between how humans act and how they identify.

Marionettes 2009

The Third Line Gallery: Dubai, DOHA

This show examined female oppression in regards to domesticity.

Celebrating Women in the Arts

Diyabakair, Turkey

Thoughts on Canvas

Hudiksvall’s Museum: Hudiksvall, Sweden

Group Exhibitions

I Will See It, When I Believe It (May 15-July 27, 2019)

The Third Line Gallery: Dubai

Her work was displayed at the Third Line Gallery in Dubai. Kahraman’s works were exhibited with works by abbas Akhavan, Farhad Moshiri, Laleh Khorramian, Rana Begum, Slavs and Tartars, and Sophia Al Maria. The exhibit explored the psychological concept of making split second decisions and perception. The works explored the disconnect between expectation versus reality.

Frieze London 2017 (October 5-8 2017)

The Third Line Gallery: Dubai

Her works were a part of a group presentation along with works by Abbas Akhavan, Amir H. Fallah, Laleh Khorramian and Sara Naim. The exhibit looked at the idea of space, and environment, physical or conceptual.

Disquieting Muses 2011

Contemporary Art Centre of Thessaloniki, State Museum of Contemporary Art: Greece

Of Women’s Modesty and Anger 2011

Villa Empain Centre for the Arts: Brussels, I Don’t Need Your Money Honey All I Need Is Love

Traffic: Dubai

The Silk Road 2010

Tri Postal: Lille France, Frieze: London, The Third Line: Dubai, Women Painters from 5 Continents, Osart Gallery: Milano Italy, Taswir, Martin Gropius-Bau: Berlin

Echo 2009

Frey Norris Gallery: San Francisco, Balla Drama: London, Volta Art Fair: Thierry Goldberk Projects NYC, Unveiled: New Art from the Middle East: The Saatchi Gallery London

Local Produce 2008

The Lise Sette Gallery, Arizona

Life Drawing 2007-2009

The Third Line Gallery : Dubai (December 19, 2007-January 10, 2008)

Kahraman’s works were displayed with those of Neda Hadizadeh, Ghadah Al Kandari, and Lamya Gargash. It examined the depiction of the body.

Daemons 2006

Phoneix Theatre, Arizona

Accademia di Arte e Design 2005

Florence, Italy

Solo and group exhibitions

Kahraman has participated in group shows extensively since 2003. Her solo exhibitions include shows at the Third Line Gallery in Dubai, the Frey Norris Gallery in San Francisco, the Thierry Goldberg Projects in New York. the Hälsingland Museum in Hudiksvall, Sweden, the Jack Shainman Gallery in New York, the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, and the Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects.[5][16]

See also

References
  1. "Honolulu Museum of Art » Hayv Kahraman: Superfluous Bodies". honolulumuseum.org. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  2. "Hayv Kahraman - Artist's Profile". The Saatchi Gallery. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  3. "Project Series 52". Pomona College Museum of Art. 2017-10-27. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  4. "Hayv Kahraman. Minor Heroisms". Universes in Universe. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  5. "Hayv Kahraman - Artist's Profile". The Saatchi Gallery. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  6. Phaidon Editors (2019). Great women artists. Phaidon Press. p. 208. ISBN 0714878774.
  7. "Collective Performance: Gendering Memories of Iraq". Journal of Middle East Women's Studies. 11:1. March 2015. doi:10.1215/15525864-2832412.
  8. del Barco, Mandalit. "Iraqi American Artist Hayv Kahraman Is 'Building An Army Of Fierce Women'". NPR. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  9. "The Book – Design Assembly 3". da3.designassembly.org. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  10. Smith, Roberta (26 March 2015). "Hayv Kahraman: 'How Iraqi Are You?'". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  11. Ray, Sharmistha (November 26, 2017). "An Iraqi Artist Bears Witness to the Trauma of Displacement". Hyperallergic. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  12. "Challenging Stereotypes by Contorting the Female Form". Hyperallergic. 2019-09-09. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  13. "Hayv Kahraman - Artist's Profile". The Saatchi Gallery. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  14. "Honolulu Museum of Art » Hayv Kahraman: Superfluous Bodies". honolulumuseum.org. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  15. "Hayv Kahraman | Artists | The Third Line | Art Gallery Dubai". www.thethirdline.com. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  16. "Kahraman Biography" (PDF). Jack Shainman Gallery, Inc. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
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