Reza Lavassani

Reza Lavassani (b. 1962, Tehran, Iran) is an artist based in Tehran who works in painting, sculpture, illustration and installation. His subjects come from Persian poetry, old stories, fables, myths and symbols, read in a present-day way. Drawing is the root of his practice, and some drawings become oil paintings or sculptures. His sculptures are built from papier-mâché and recycled paper, some of them at large scale. In his works on cardboard he pierces the surface with a sharp point, building images from rows of small holes.

The Heyrat (Wonder) series of papier-mâché sculptures was shown at Assar Art Gallery, Tehran, in 2011. Its title names a stage on the Sufi path. One work from it, Nafkh-e Soor (2008 to 2011), measures 210 by 475 by 63 cm. He started the installation Life in 2012 and spent more than three years on it. Qaaf (2025) showed drawings made by perforating unfolded cardboard boxes, with floral, bird and architectural motifs from Iranian visual tradition. The Khayyam series (2026) carries the method into pinhole drawings on cardboard.

He took a BA in painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, in 1991. His solo exhibitions in Tehran include Ariya Gallery (1994 and 2002) and Barg Gallery (2000 and 2002). Later solo shows were at Mah Gallery (2005) and Assar Art Gallery (2007, 2011 and 2018). He showed Life in Of Being and Singing, the Iran pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale (2019). Group shows include biennials at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (1993 and 2000) and the 12th Asian Art Biennale, Dhaka (2006). He won first prize at the 6th Tehran Illustration Biennial (1999) and the 4th Tehran Sculpture Biennial (2006). He also received prizes at the Noma Concours, Tokyo (1994 and 2007).