Shahin Esfandiari

Shahin Esfandiari (b. 1985, Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian artist based in Tehran who works in photography and hand-printed photographic techniques. Esfandiari's subjects are nature and human perception, approached through the concept Nature as a Sensitive Surface. The photographs are printed by hand on handmade paper. The work includes close-up monochrome studies of etched surfaces.

Esfandiari took a Diploma of Art at the Kamalolmolk School, Tehran, in 2003. A BA in Graphic Design followed at Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, in 2007. In 2010 Esfandiari completed a diploma in silkscreen print, cyanotype and etching printmaking. Publications include Mard, from Mahriz Publication (2011), and Dastan, from Hamshahri Publication (2016). Two works appear in Not Yet Gone at Shiva Zahed Gallery, Istanbul (2026): Untitled 17 (2024) and Untitled 05 (2026). In them natural forms dissolve into colour, light and atmosphere. The pictures sit between photography and painting.

The earliest solo exhibition in the CV is Rokh at Golestan Gallery, Tehran (2014). Sensitive Points (2018) and Tides (2020) followed at Silk Road Gallery, Tehran. Travel Your Mind showed at Hinterland, Vienna (2021), and Water in Iran at Ithaque, Paris (2024). Scene opened at O Gallery, Tehran, in 2025. Group exhibitions include Sabz at Azad Art Gallery, Tehran (2009), and Spring and Newday at The British Museum, London (2010). The Photography Biennial at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art also included the work in 2010. Later group shows include Salvation at Niavaran Complex Gallery, Tehran (2015), and the Printmaking Biennial at A Gallery, Tehran (2021). In 2026 Esfandiari showed in Tavaafogh-e Khodemaani at 009821 Projects, Tehran. Silk Road Gallery presented the work at the Teer Art fair, Tehran, in 2019. Esfandiari received an International Photography Award (IPA), New York, in 2009. The artist is on the roster of Shiva Zahed Gallery, Istanbul.