Jaleh Tannaz Tavassoli (1987, Hamedan, Iran) is a self-taught artist and writer with a background in urban design, driven by a lifelong interest in the connection between body, mind, and environment. That interest was never purely intellectual; as a neurodivergent person, her way of perceiving patterns and relationships has always differed from what was expected of her. Painting has always been there, deeply personal, as a way to make sense of the world and her own place within it. She has a thing for found materials and is drawn to any object with a story and a surface that can hold some paint. In recent years, her work has expanded from painting into installation, video, and participatory projects.
After a severe injury in her hand and lower back during Woman Life Freedom uprising in 2022, she works with both hands and mostly with found, everyday materials that already carry time, narrative and meaning. She usually works simultaneously on one major, long-term project, and some smaller, short-term works.
Her main inspiration for creating comes from the highly transformative combination of suffering, awareness, wisdom and audacity of Iranian women. She likes to see the movement of Iranian women over history as something similar to the growth of plants in hostile environments; both organic, dynamic, and unstoppable by nature.
Solo Exhibitions
2026 – Truth Is Body, Bad Kreuznach, Germany
2025 – What Is Left, private show, Tehran, Iran
2021 – Shading: Slight Discrepancy, Sharif Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2018 – Agaze, Hepta Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Art Residencies
2026 – Artist-in-Residence, Schloss Balmoral, Germany
2026 – Artist-in-Residence, Künstlerbahnhof, Germany
Selected Group Exhibitions
2026 – Out of Frame, Shirin Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2024 – Women in 100 Years, Istanbul, Turkey
2024 – Miravi-o Moqabelli, Online platforms
2022 – Nowan Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2021 – Trio No.4, Sharif, Tehran, Iran
2020 – Aria Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2018 – Aknoon Gallery, Isfahan, Iran
2018 – Saa Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2017 – Bon Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2017 – Bayan Gallery, Isfahan, Iran
Talks & Panels
Panelist, Artist Under Pressure, Ludwig Museum, Koblenz, Germany, March 2026
Education
2014 – M.A. in Urban Design, Yazd University of Art and Architecture, Iran
2010 – B.S. in Urban Development, Sheikh Bahaei University, Isfahan, Iran
Training
2024–2025 – Character Design & Spatial Narrative, Iranian Illustrators Society
(character & atmosphere development for visual narratives)
2021–2025 – Various Art Criticism and Art History Courses, Kaarnamaa Institute
2025 – Advanced AI-assisted Image Production, Inverse School
(Experimental and Critical Approach)
2020–2023 – Modern Art History, by Prof. Hamid Severi
2009–2018 – Creative Writing, by Prof. Majid Eslami
2013–2015 – Figurative Art, by Karim Nasr
2010–2012 – Drawing & Painting, by Hossein Maher
Professional Experience
2017–2026 – Freelance Visual Artist
(development and execution of long-term and short-term artistic projects)
2012–2022 – Freelance Illustrator
(illustration for editorial and independent projects)
2020–2022 – Artistic Event Coordination
(support in organizing and planning artistic events)
2019–2021 – Assistant Editor, Kaarnamaa Institution
(Editorial support, content development, coordination)
2017–2020 – Contributing Writer, Chahaar Magazine
Media & Press
TV coverage, exhibition opening, SWR, March 2026
Kunst gegen Unterdrückung, Allgemeine Zeitung, by Wolfgang Bares, March 2026
Der Krieg im Iran macht ihre Kunst aktuell, Öffentlicher Anzeiger, by Josef Nürnberger, March 2026
TV feature, profile segment, SWR Kulturmagazin, February 2026
Iranische Künstlerin zu Gast, Allgemeine Zeitung, by Nathalie Doles… , February 2026
Wenn du Hause die Rebellion holt, Öffentlicher Anzeiger, by Robert Neuber, January 2026
Address
Villenpromenade, Bad Ems
Contacts
info@tavassoli.art