Bio
Malahat Mohebkhah is an Iranian artist and painter. She holds a bachelor's degree in painting from the University of Art in Isfahan and a master's degree in painting from the University of Art in Tehran. "Limbo" and "Scheme" were her first solo exhibitions, presented in 2013 at Aria and Shirin galleries. "The Slaked" series and the installation "Memorial for the Disappearing City" were exhibited in 2019 by Shirin Gallery in Tehran. Her most recent solo exhibition, "Remembrance: Love and Grief” was held at the Choom Gallery in Anzali. Since 2012, she has participated in numerous group exhibitions in Iran, Canada, and Germany.
The relationship between place, memory, and historical geography, has become a central theme in Malahat’s work. Her subjects, such as rivers, seas, bridges, houses, and collective figures along with her use of installation media, reflect her efforts to create a metaphorical space that expresses the relationships between the shifting layers of collective memory tied to place and people.
Malahat is an experimental artist, which is evident in her use of various materials, including painting and drawing on Plexiglas, silk fabric, ceramics, and video as elements in her installations, as well as in the methods and varietal subjects.
Water and figures are central element in her works, particularly in the series "Limbo”,"Remembrance: Zayandeh-Rood," and "The Slaked," featuring figures of her relatives swimming, playing, drowning, or wandering. Water, besides representing a space for human and social interactions and conflicts. Malahat's use of transparency and the reflective quality of material in her works is inspired by the metaphor of mirror-like water used for introspection in Iranian literature and use of silver for painting water in traditional Persian miniatures, which has gradually darkened over time. Malahat employs black to paint rivers and seas on mirrored surfaces to create a symbolic representation of a fluid state imbued with inevitable awareness.
In recent years, following her move to Rasht, Malahat has incorporated silk fabric into her work. Historically, Rasht was a center for silk production and export, with the city’s economy built on this foundation over the centuries, though silk production has ceased in recent years. In her installation "Remembrance: Love and Grief she uses silk as both a divider of private spaces and as a medium for large, transparent paintings that form a grid of overlapping images. These works are mounted on wooden structures in the middle of the exhibition space. Through layering and distorting the images, Malahat explores the experience of loss in relation to place and memory.
CV
b.1987, Rasht, Iran
Educations:
2012 MFA (painting), Tehran University of Art, Iran
2009 BFA (painting), Isfahan University of Art, Iran
Selected Solo Exhibitions:
2023 Remembrance: Love and Grief, Choomartgallery, Anzali, Iran
2019 Abdidegan+ the Memorial for a Disappearing City, ShirinArtGallery, Tehran, Iran
2013 Tarh (Scheme), ShirinArtGallery,Tehran, Iran
2013 Limbo, Aria Gallery,Tehran, Iran
Selected Group Exhibitions:
2025 Cell installation group exhibition, curated by Zahra Habibi, Shamisartgallery, Tehran, Iran 2024 the Sound of Silence, Cheshmeh Space, Istanbul, Turky
2024 Duplicate the Filelds, Amaanatdari, A project by Emad Anooshirvani, Rasht, Iran
2023 For, Kunstwerdenbuhne, Essen, Germany
2023 Circle, Arghavan Gallery, curated by Saye Mansour, Rasht, Iran
2023 Red in process event, Rouydaad Space, Tehran, Iran
2023 Condition: Loading, Sharif Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2022 Self Portrait, Iranianartistsforum, Tehran, Iran
2022 Conjugation of the Present Dwelling, curated by Sadaf Kiani, Sheydaei Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2016 There are More Things to Be, curated by Zartosht Rahimi, Saales Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2014 Takhti, Shirin Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2013 Inversion, curated by Aidin Khankeshipour, Basement Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2013 The other, curated by Maryam Takallou, ShirinArtGallery, Tehran, Iran
2012 Asl Barabare Copy, curated by Aidin xankeshipoor, Elahe Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2012 +Man Annual Exhibition of Elahe Gallery, curated by Amir Soghrati, Iran
Biennial/ Awards:
2014 Parviz Maleki Prize, 8th New Generation Selected Artwork, ShirinArtGallery, Tehran, Iran
Activities:
2023 A Visible Step, collaboration with Raoofe Rostami, Amaanatdari, Rasht, Iran
2021 Remembrance, Open studio, Rasht, Iran
Artist Statement
My work emerges at the intersection of memory, place, and the body, reflecting an ongoing attempt to understand the intricate interrelations between the past, emotions, and presence in a constantly shifting world. I often begin by choosing a location/narrative related to my living environment and daily life. In addition to studying the current state of the subject, I also refer to related visual, literary, and historical sources. I then photograph and film elements that gradually become more significant to me, and by revisiting the photos and my visual and narrative memory, I begin to daydream, construct images, and shape the final installation. My work is tied to the process of its formation, and the final result emerges as an inference from the functions of memory and intertextual studies surrounding the subject, acting as a bridge between myself and my living environment.
The Remembrance project is the cornerstone of my exploration, delving into these dynamics through painting and installation. This project investigates layered personal and collective experiences, presenting memory not just as a tool for representation but as a living, dynamic material.
In Remembrance: Love and Grief series, I try to depict moments of separation and intimacy. The way paint seeps through the silk layers symbolizes the uncontrollable imprint of memories and the indelible marks they leave on our psyche.
In Remembrance: Goharrud, the natural world serves as a canvas for reflecting on humanity's relationship with the environment. This series portrays a river in my hometown of Rasht, using acrylic and silk to connect natural landscapes with lived human experiences.
My process involves a balance of intentionality and surrender. Silk as a medium enables me to work with the organic flow of color and water, while my decisions about imagery and composition reflect careful introspection on personal and collective memories. Each layer of paint becomes an imprint of memory, gradually unveiled as the fabric unfolds—resulting in blurred and transparent visuals that evoke the emotional and temporal complexity of remembering.
My art is rooted in lived experiences, familial histories, and the socio-cultural landscapes. Yet, these local narratives often transcend their origins, addressing universal questions about human identity, the power of memory, and the resilience of the self in the face of grief and transformation.
By engaging with themes of loss, recovery, and self-reconstruction, I aim to create works that resonate with both personal intimacy and shared human experiences. Through the interplay of silk, color, and imagery, my work seeks to bridge the gap between the material and the ephemeral, offering a textured reflection on the fragility and persistence of memory.