Born 1990 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Lives in Providence, Rhode Island.
Sheida Soleimani was born to political refugees who fled Iran in the mid-1980s. As an Iranian American, she builds photographic tableaux that dramatize Middle Eastern geopolitics, satirizing the reporting of West and East alike. Her photographs often source imagery from popular media and adapt them to exist within alternative scenarios, including photographs, moving image, sculpture, and theatre. Like propaganda posters and art forms that emerge in times of crisis (Dada, Relational Aesthetics, Identity Politics), her works chronicle oral histories to portray events that have been shrouded by Western reportage, situating her practice and discourse not only in art, but also in political activism.
Sheida Soleimani received her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and her BFA from the University of Cincinnati, College of Art. Soleimani’s most recent solo exhibitions were at Harlan Levey Projects in Brussels, Andrew Rafacz Gallery in Chicago and the evolving exhibition Medium of Exchange that examined how oil is interchangeable with currency and the corruption at the center of the petroleum industry. Medium of Exchange traveled to six different locations from Edel Assanti in London to the Atlanta Contemporary, in Atlanta, GA. Soleimani is represented by Edel Assanti in London, as well as Harlan Levey Projects in Brussels. Soleimani has been written about in The New York Times, Artforum, Hyperallergic, The Brooklyn Rail, among many others including BEAUTIFUL/DECAY founded by artist, Amir H. Fallah. She currently is an Assistant Professor of Studio Art at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA.
Sheida Soleimani B. 1990, Indianapolis, Indiana. Lives and works in Providence, Rhode Island. —Isabelle Sakelaris The daughter of politically engaged Iranian refugees, Sheida Soleimani creates works that address world events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and violence against women, by examining power structures through a feminist lens. In an interview with the British Journal of Photography, Soleimani remarked, “I consider my work a feminist practice, because it’s associated with the so-called female practices of cutting, making, and even care-taking.” Whether using found material…Read More
As a photographer who captures images of elaborate stage-like sets, Sheida Soleimani is engaged with contradictory modes.
“Tracing Networks of Political Corruption in Sheida Soleimani’s Slick, Hyper-Stylized Tableaux” by Cassie Packard
The Iranian-American artist invites us into her converted, 19th century barn in Rhode Island, where politically charged installations co-exist with her hobby of rehabilitating injured wildlife.
Exhibition catalog for Sheida Soleimani: Hotbed with essay by Jane Ursula Harris.
As a first gallery solo show in New York, this introduction to Soleimani’s work packs plenty of promising firepower. What’s exciting is that she’s boldly stepped into the fray of making overtly political art, and punched her way through with consistent intelligence and visual wit.
Join all the Tribeca Galleries on Saturday, December 5th from 11am-7pm for Tribeca Gallery Day!
Speaking truth to the crises that define relations between Iran and the United States, Soleimani superimposes source imagery onto sculptural backdrops to reflect and critique hot-button issues such as demands for reparations, sanctions on trade and resources, and the “crude” history of the petroleum industry.
Join us over Zoom for a celebratory opening conversation of the exhibition, Sheida Soleimani: Hotbed. The online event will include a walkthrough, discussion of the work, and Q & A.
