BABAK GOLKAR
www.babakgolkar.ca
studio@babakgolkar.ca
EDUCATION
Masters of Fine Arts, University of British Columbia, 2007
Bachelors of Fine Arts, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, 2004
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2020
The Longer You Can Look Back, The Farther You Can Look Forward, Sabrina Amrani Gallery, Madrid, Spain. Curator: Jal Hamad
2019
The Elephant (an intermission), Sabrina Amrani Gallery, Madrid, Spain. Curator: Jal Hamad
All The Blind Men, Servais Family Collection, Brussels, Belgium. Curator: Kimberley Phillips
2016
In No Particular Hurry. Galeria Sabrina Amrani, Madrid, Spain. Curator: Jal Hamad
a fair day's wage for a fair day's work. Edel Assanti Gallery, London, United Kingdom. Curator: Jeremy Epstein
La Collection Imaginaire, Institute for New Connotative Action, Seattle, U.S.A. Curators: Aeron Bergman and Alejandra Salinas
2014
Of Labour, Of Dirt. Sazmanab, Tehran, Iran, Curator: Elham Puriyamehr
The Return Project. Third Line Gallery, Dubai, U.A.E.
Time To Let Go…. Vancouver Art Gallery: Offsite, Vancouver, Canada, Curator: Diana Freundl
2013
Dialectic of Failure. West Vancouver Museum, West Vancouver, Canada. Curator: Darrin Morrison
Ground for Standing and Understanding. VOLTA NY Featured Project, New York City, U.S.A. Curator: Michael Kaufmann
2012
Parergon. Sharjah Contemporary Art Museum, Sharjah, U.A.E. Curator: Moza Ali Al Shamsi
Ground for Standing and Understanding. Charles H. Scott Gallery, Vancouver, Canada. Curator: Greg Bellerby
Mechanisms of Distortion (Commissioned installation). Victoria and Albert Museum, London, U.K. Curator: Salma Tuqan
Spatial Transformation. Hilger Contemporary, Vienna, Austria. Curator: Michael Kaufmann
2011
Parergon. Third Line Gallery, Dubai, UAE. Curator: Sunny Rahbar
Parergon. C.S.A. Space, Vancouver, Canada. Curator: Steven Tong
Black Cube: Moving Toward the Abstract Light. Sanatorium, Istanbul, Turkey. Curator: Güher Gurmen
2007
Then, Now and Then. Republic Gallery, Vancouver, Canada. Curator: Pantea Haghighi
2005
Dear Joseph: Happy 84th Birthday. Lobby Gallery, Vancouver, Canada, Curator: Wes Cameron and Matt Robertson
2003
the philosophy and science of mutation. Centre A Gallery, Vancouver, Canada, Curated by Sadira Rodrigous
Throne. XENO gallery, Vancouver, Canada, Curator: Mo Salemi
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2020
Contemporary Ceramics (Postponed), Victoria and Albert Museum. London, United Kingdom. Curator: Mariam Rosser-Owen
Crocodile Tears, UNIT 17, Vancouver, Canada. Curator: Tobin Gibson
2019
Ionic Bonds. Kamloops Art Gallery, Kamloops, Canada. Curator: Charo Neville
2018
Dérapages & Post-Bruises Imaginaries. The Loft, Brussels, Belgium. Curator: Dragos Olea
Here: Locating Contemporary Canadian Artists. Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, Canada. Curator: Swapnaa Tamhane
Roadside Attractions. Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina, Canada. Curator: Jennifer Matotek
N. VANCOUVER. Polygon Gallery, North Vancouver, Canada. Curator: Reid Shier
2017
When Form Becomes Attitude. Contemporary Calgary, Calgary, Canada. Curator: Noa Bronstein
Mementos. Artists’ Souvenirs, Artifacts and Other Curiosities. Hotel de la Poste, Brussels, Belgium. Curators: Jens Hoffmann and Piper Marshall
Regarding George Ohr: Contemporary Ceramics in the Spirit of the Mad Potter. Boca Raton Museum of Art. FL, U.S.A.. Curator: Garth Clark
Long, Winding Journeys. Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, New York, U.S.A.. Curator: Elizabeth Rooklidge
2016
Metatextile: Ruptured Narratives, Exchanged Values. Edel Assanti Gallery, London, U.K., Curator: Jeremy Epstein
Object Oriented Apology. Institute for New Connotative Action, Seattle, U.S.A. Curators: Aeron Bergman and Alejandra Salinas
The Ink Jet Show, Art Labour Gallery, Shanghai, China. Curator: Martin Kemble
Mass Individualism, Ab/Anbar, Tehran, Iran. Curator: Azadeh Zaferani
2015
Residue: The Persistence of the Real. Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Curator: Grant Arnold
Crisis of History – Beyond History, Framer Framed, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Curator: Elham Puriyamehr
Common Grounds, Museum Villa Stvck, Munich, Germany. Curator: Verena Hein
Heaven and Hell, Fondation Boghossian - Villa Empain, Bruxelles, Belgium. Curators: Diane Hennebert and Christophe Dosogne
2014
L'avenir: La Biennale de Montréal (9th edition). Musée d’art Contemporain de Montréal, Director: Sylvie Fortin, Curators: Peggy Gale and Gregory Burke (October-February 2015)
La Route Bleue. National Museum Adrien Dubouché, Limoges, France. Curators: Etienne Blondeau and Céline Paul
Music Palace. Fondation Boghossian - Villa Empain, Bruxelles, Belgium. Curator: Diana Wiegersma (September-January)
Hajj, le pèlerinage à La Mecque. Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France. Curator: Omar Saghi (April-August)
The Language of Human Consciousness. Athr Gallery, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Curator: Mohammad Hafiz (July-Oct)
2013
La Route Bleue. Fondation Boghossian - Villa Empain, Bruxelles, Belgium. Curator: Diane Hennebert
Biennale Online. Directed by Jan Hoet, Curated by Iara Boubnova
2012
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE A MONOCHROME. University of Iowa Museum of Art, Curator: by Mariángeles Soto-Díaz
#COMETOGETHER. EOA Project, London, U.K. Curator: Stephen Stapleton
Contemporary Iranian Art. New Albion Gallery, Sydney, Australia. Curator: Doug Hall
COME INVEST IN US. YOU’LL STRIKE GOLD. BrotKunsthalle, Vienna, Austria. Curator: Diana Wiegersma
Jameel Prize Exhibition. Casa Arabe, Madrid, Spain
2011
The Bravery of Being Out of Range. Athr Gallery, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Curator: Aya Haidar
Roaming Images: Crossroads of Greek and Arab Culture Through the Eyes of Contemporary Artists. Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Greece. Curator: Iara Boubnova
Jameel Prize Exhibitions. Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris
Jameel Prize Exhibitions. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, U.K., Curator: Salma Tuqan
Expositions. Blanket Gallery, Vancouver, Canada. Curator: Natalia Tkachev
Tension. Hezy Cohen Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel. Curator: Yael Katz Ben Shalom
Art Dubai. The Third Line Gallery
Art Beat. Istanbul Art Fair, Istanbul, Turkey. The Third Line Gallery
Istanbul Contemporary, Istanbul, Turkey. Hilger Contemporary
2010
Time After Time. Southern Exposure, Los Angeles, USA. Curator: Valerie Imus and Taraneh Hemami
The Promise of Loss. A Contemporary Index of Iran. Arario Gallery, New York City, USA. Curator: Shaheen Merali
Frieze Art Fair. The Third Line Gallery, London, U.K.
Artissima. The Third Line Gallery, Turin, Italy
2009
The Promise of Loss. A Contemporary Index of Iran. Galerie Hilger BrotKunsthalle, Vienna, Austria. Curator: Shaheen Merali
ArtBasel-Miami. Hilger Contemporary
Infinite Egress. Surrey Art Gallery, Surrey, Canada. Curator: Jordan Strom
Nuit Blanche. Toronto, Canada. Curator: Makiko Hara (Public)
Folter in der Kultur – Kultur der Folter. Artneuland Project, Berlin, Germany. Curator: Yael Katz Ben Shalom
2008
My Favorite Pastime, WL-Project, Hong Kong. Curators: Kathrin Becker in collaboration with Silvia Anna Barirlà and Hanna Jacobi
Prequel. Gallery Atsui, Vancouver, Canada. Curators: Wesley Cameron and Matt Robertson: Until We Have A Helicopter
Moodyville. Presentation House Gallery, North Vancouver, Canada. Curator: Helga Pakassar
Orientalism and Ephemera. Centre A Gallery, Vancouver, Canada. / Kenderdine Art Gallery, Uiversity of Saskatchewan, SK. Curator: Jamelie Hassan
Interior of Design. Republic Gallery, Vancouver, Canada. Curator: Jordan Strom
CURATORIAL PROJECTS
2013
Friendship of Nations. Slavs and Tatars. Presentations House Gallery. North Vancouver, Canada
2012
Even the Stars Seem To Be Changing Their Position. Lyndl Hall and Erdem Taşdelen. Sanatorium Project, Istanbul, Turkey
2006
The Wrong Gallery Edition #125. Lobby Gallery, Vancouver, Canada. (Co-Curated with Wes Cameron and Matt Robertson) Artists included: Instant Coffee, Hadley and Mawell, Henry Tsang, David MacWilliam, Mark DeLong, David Young, Étienne Zack
2003
A-MEN. Concourse Gallery, ECIAD, Vancouver, Canada (Co-Curated with Sergio Toporek)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2015
Vali, Murtaza, “Babak Golkar: The Return Project,” Art Forum, January 2015 pg. 235.
2014
Dr. Daneshvari, Abbas. Amazingly Original: Contemporary Iranian Art at Crossroads. Mazda Publication. 2014.
Turner, Michael. How It Is Made and What It Is Made Of: Babak Golkar’s Scream Pots. (Catalogue Essay for Of Labour, Of Dirt)
Dr. Sojoodi, Farzan. Perfection in imperfection: Dichotomies Deconstructed in Golkar’s Time to Let Go… (Catalogue Essay for Of Labour, Of Dirt)
Pouriyamehr, Elham. Of Labour, Of Dirt. (Catalogue Essay for Of Labour, Of Dirt)
Kalsi, Jyoti. Put under a spell by the market. Gulf News. Oct. 30.
Saghafi, Mohsen. Tandis Magazine (Farsi). Oct. 30.
Bahman Siahmard, Fatemeh. Honar Online (Farsi). Oct. 20.
Seaman, Anna. The Return Project, The National, U.A.E., October 2014.
Griffin, Kevin C. Time to Let . . . Go with Babak Golkar’s terracotta vessels, Vancouver Sun, May 8.
2013
Laurence, Robin. Babak Golkar's Dialectic of Failure reconsiders the nature of craft. Nov. 26.
Verster, Gina. A Mud-slinging Screamfest. Nov. 2.
2012
James, Gareth. Grounds for Standing and Understanding, Art Forum, May 2012 pg. 318.
Vali, Murtaza. Babak Golkar: Funny Frames, Harpers Bazaar Art, January 2012 pgs. 70-74.
Laurence, Robin. Persian carpets rise in 3-D, Georgia Straight, 25 Jan 2012
Harris, Michael. Grounds for Standing and Understanding, Galleries West, 4 March 2012
Starnes, Jason. Negotiating Symbolic Space, Usurping the Big Other, catalogue essay
Boubnova, Iara. Grounds for Standing and Understanding, catalogue essay
2011
Taşdelen, Erdem. The Logic of Parerga, catalogue essay
Lord, Christopher. Babak Golkar explores shifting meanings through picture frames, The National, U.A.E. 13 November 2011
Lord, Christopher. Jameel Prize 2011 shortlist develops art from craftwork, The National, U.A.E. 14 July 2011
Jameel Prize: Art Contemporian D’inspiration Islamique, Art Absolument: Numéro Spécial
Ibrahim, Dina. Architectural Psychology, ArteEast http://www.arteeast.org/pages/artists/Golkar/?section=writing (September 2011)
Kiger, Rumeysa. Golkar’s installation takes visitors back to their childhood, Today’s Zaman, Istanbul. 12 June 2011
Utkan, Hatice. ‘Black Cube’ moves, freedom vanishes, Hurriyet. Istanbul, 2 June 2011
Güleşçi, Pırıl. Siyah küpün içinde ne var? (What’s Inside the Black Cube?), Haber Turk, Istanbul. 18 June 2011
2010
Lee. Sasha M. Daily Serving
http://dailyserving.com/2010/08/interview-with-babak-golkar/ (August 2010)
Nateghi, Behnam. Voice of America interview. January 2010
2009
Hurtig, Annette. An Extended Dérive in a Terrain Passional, The Capilano Review, pgs. 120-127, Spring 2009 issue
2005
Witt Ryan. Portrait of an artist, Georgia Straight. 29 September 2005
Hampton, Maria. Metro Newspaper Vancouver
Burnham, Clint. Horses for Courses. Vancouver Sun
Harris, Elayne. Horses For Courses: We Are Sorry. Catalogue essay
AWARDS
2017
Sobey Awards–Long list, Ottawa, Canada
2016
Davidoff Art Initiative, Altos de Chavón, Dominican Republic
2011
Nominated and shortlisted for The Victoria and Albert Museum’s Jameel Prize. London, U.K.
Nominated and shortlisted for Magic of Persia Contemporary Art Prize. London, U.K. Co-presented by The Royal College of Art, Saatchi Gallery and Christie’s Auction house
2010
Canada Council for the Arts Production Grant. Ottawa, Canada
British Columbia Arts Council Production Grant. Victoria, Canada
2009
British Columbia Arts Council Production Grant. Victoria, Canada
2006
VADA Award. Vancouver, B.C.
2004
B.C. Binning Drawing Scholarship. Vancouver, Canada
2003
Helen Pitt Award. Vancouver, Canada
TEACHING
2009-2011
Sessional Faculty of Graduate Studies. Visual, Media Arts and Design Departments, Emily Carr University, Vancouver, Canada
2005-2011
Sessional Faculty of Undergraduate Studies. Visual Arts Department, Emily Carr University, Vancouver, Canada
2005-2006
Teaching and Research Assistant. Department of Art History and Visual Art, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
2004-2008
Part-Time Instructor. Faculty of Digital Design, Vancouver Film School, Vancouver, Canada
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES
2012
Artist Residency, Delfina Foundation, London, U.K.
2008-2009
Program Coordinator, Masters of Applied Arts, Emily Carr University,
Vancouver, Canada
2006
Summer Interim Curator at Centre A Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2006
Spring Guest Instructor, Arts & Culture Commission of North Vancouver, Canada
2003-2004
Research Assistant, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada