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Sanam Khatibi - Artists - PPOW

Sanam Khatibi, 2017.
Photo by Jasmine Van Hevel

Set in fantastical, utopian landscapes, Sanam Khatibi’s (b. 1979) atemporal and allegorical works showcase primal impulses and unrestrained animality, wherein humans and beasts have little emotional or physical distinction. Channeling magical naturalism through paintings, tapestries, and sculptures, Khatibi both exalts and cautions against the fine line between triumph and failure, peace and brutality, and ultimately, civilization and destruction. Khatibi lives and works in Paris, France. She has presented solo exhibitions at Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brazil; the Groeningemuseum, Bruges, Belgium; rodolphe janssen, Brussels, Belgium; Kunsthal Gent, Gent, Belgium; and P·P·O·W, New York, NY, among others. She has also been included in Paradise, the Kortrijk Triennial, in 2021 and The Seventh Continent, the 16th Istanbul Biennial, curated by Nicolas Bourriaud in 2019. Her work has been featured in group exhibitions at Centraal Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands; the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece; S.M.A.K, Gent, Brussels; UTA Artist Space, Los Angeles, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Centre Régional d’Art Contemporain Occitane, Sète, France; Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, NY; Musée d’Art Contemporain, Marseille, France; and Museum of Deinze, Deinze, Belgium, among others. P·P·O·W presented Khatibi's second solo exhibition with the gallery, We Wait Until Dark, April 12 - May 11, 2024.

Sanam Khatibi

b. 1979, Tehran, Iran      
Lives and works in Brussels, Belgium

Solo Exhibitions 

2024
We Wait Until Dark, P·P·O·W, New York, NY 

2023
Je serais douce, Le Voyage à Nantes, Nantes, France

2022
In my dreams, I kill him every night, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brazil

2021    
Lemon Drizzle, Groeningemuseum, Bruges, Belgium

2020    
Cyanide, rodolphe janssen, Brussels, Belgium
Cruelest of the Seas, Kunsthal Gent, Gent, Belgium

2019    
An hour before the Devil fell, P·P·O·W, New York, NY
De ta salive qui mord, BPS22, Charleroi, Belgium
The Murders of the green river, rodolphe janssen, Brussels, Belgium

2018    
Wild Mink, Artlead Salon, Brussels, Belgium

2017    
Rivers in your mouth, rodolphe janssen, Brussels, Belgium
With tenderness and longing, Billboard Series: Art in Public Space, Artlead, Gent, Belgium
No Church in the wild, The Cabin LA, Los Angeles, CA

2016    
Le jardin décomposé, Super Dakota, Brussels, Belgium
The hollow in the ferns, NICC Vitrine, Brussels, Belgium

2015    
Ask me nicely, trampoline, Antwerp, Belgium

2014    
Séduire ou crever de faim, Island, Brussels, Belgium

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024
On Ma, Pedro Cera, Lisbon, Portugal
FULL DISCLOSURE: Selections from the Thomas-Suwall Collection, The Plains Art Museum, Fargo, ND

2023
Linhas Tortas, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brazil
Paper Trails, Mendes Wood DM, Retranchement, The Netherlands
Finis Terrae, Geukens & De Vil, Antwerp, Belgium

2022
Abrasive Paradise, Kunsthal KAdE, Amersfoort, The Netherlands
The Natural World: Part II, Alexander Berggruen, New York, NY 

2021
Modern Love (or Love in the Age of Cold Intimacies, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands; National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece
One Way or Another, S.M.A.K, Gent, Brussels
Beyond the Looking Glass, Curated by Zuzanna Ciolek, UTA Artist Space, Los Angeles, CA
Paradise, The Kortrijk Triennial, Kortrijk, Belgium
Mirrored Infinities, The Agprognostic Temple, Brussels, Belgium
Chants of a Gargoyle, Seghers & Pang; Waldburger Wouters, Brussels, Belgium

2020    
The Shameful Kiss, Kunstverein Dresden, Dresden, Germany
Tears of Eros, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Zonder kustenaars geen kunst, M HKA, Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

2019    
Le Salon, M HKA, Antwerp, Belgium
Some Trees, Nino Mier Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
The Seventh Continent, 16th Istanbul Biennial, Curated by Nicholas Bourriaud, Istanbul, Turkey

2018    
Terres de Femmes, Praz-Delavallade, Paris, France
Nightfall, Mendes Wood DM, Brussels, Belgium
Op de grond, tussenin of aan de hemel, Curated by Els Wuyts, Ten Bogaerde, Coxyde, Belgium
100 Sculptures, Curated by Todd Von Ammon & Joseph Ian Henrikson, Anonymous Gallery, Mexico City, Mexico
Mademoiselle, CRAC Occitanie, Sète, France
SEED, Group Show, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, NY USA
Dead Eden, Lyles & King, New York, NY USA
What are you staring at?, curated by Domenico De Chirico, Eduardo Secci, Florence, Italy
Quel amour !?, MAC, Musée d’Art Contemporain, Marseille, France
20 YEARS NICC - JUBILEE - A works, NICC, Antwerp, Belgium
Weeping, Dreaming, Fucking, Laughing, Wschód Gallery, Warsaw, Poland

2017    
Listening to The Form, Panthera, Brussels, Belgium
Hecate, Various Small Fires, Los Angeles, CA
Dalonaz, Royal, Brussels, Belgium

2016    
Summer in the City, Christine König Gallery, Vienna, Austria
Biennial of Painting, Museum of Deinze, Deinze, Belgium
Balls & Glory, rodolphe janssen, Brussels, Belgium

2015    
Louise186, Brussels Art Days, Brussels, Belgium
Me, Myself and I, trampoline, Antwerp, Belgium
Palourdes cuites, Christopher Crescent, Brussels, Belgium
Every day I’m..., Harlan Levey, Brussels, Belgium

2014    
The Penthouse Art Event, Harlan Levey Projects, Bloom Hotel, Brussels, Belgium

2013    
Thalie Art Project, Curated by Emmanuel Lambion and Nathalie Guiot, Brussels, Belgium

2012    
The Antagonist, Waterside Contemporary, London, UK

Public Collections

Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada
Belfius Art Collection, Brussels, Belgium
Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection, West Palm Beach, FL
BPS22, Charleroi, Belgium
Centraal Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Musée d'lxelles, Brussels, Belgium
Province du Hainaut, Belgium
SMAK - Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, Ghent, Belgium

Bibliography

2022
Nugent, Gabriella. “Sanam Khatibi.” Great Women Artists, Phaidon Press Limited, London, 2022, p. 158.

2021    
“Beyond the Looking Glass.” Edited by Zuzanna Ciolek. UTA Artist Space, 2021. Exhibition catalogue.
“Cyanide.” Text by Nikolaas Demoen. Posture Editions, January 2021.

2019    
“The Murders of the Green River.” rodolphe janssen, January 2019. Exhibition catalogue.

2018    
“My garden is wilder than yours.” Text by Simon Delobel. Posture Editions, November 2018.

2017    
“Rivers in your mouth.” rodolphe janssen, September 2017. Exhibition catalogue.

Selected Works

Selected Works Thumbnails
Sanam Khatibi
Death by Summer, 2021
oil, pastel and pencil on panel (framed)
9 1/2 x 12 1/2 ins.
24 x 31.6 cm

Sanam Khatibi
Death by Summer, 2021
oil, pastel and pencil on panel (framed)
9 1/2 x 12 1/2 ins.
24 x 31.6 cm

Sanam Khatibi, I’ve watched you at garden parties, 2021

Sanam Khatibi
I’ve watched you at garden parties, 2021
oil, pastel and pencil on panel
9 1/2 x 12 1/2 ins.
24 x 31.6 cm

Sanam Khatibi, Sonnets to Orpheus, 2021

Sanam Khatibi
Sonnets to Orpheus, 2021
oil, pastel and pencil on panel
9 1/2 x 12 1/2 ins.
24 x 31.6 cm

Sanam Khatibi, With eyes that seem to burn, 2019

Sanam Khatibi
With eyes that seem to burn, 2019
oil on panel
6 1/2 x 8 3/8 ins.
16.4 x 21.2 cm

Sanam Khatibi, To the last syllable of recorded time, 2019

Sanam Khatibi
To the last syllable of recorded time, 2019
oil and pencil on canvas
78 3/4 x 98 3/8 ins.
200 x 250 cm

Sanam Khatibi, This is the beast with a thousand mouths, that must be fed twice a day, 2019

Sanam Khatibi
This is the beast with a thousand mouths, that must be fed twice a day, 2019
oil and pencil on canvas
70 7/8 x 90 1/2 ins.
180 x 230 cm

Sanam Khatibi
Death by Summer, 2021
oil, pastel and pencil on panel (framed)
9 1/2 x 12 1/2 ins.
24 x 31.6 cm

Sanam Khatibi
Death by Summer, 2021
oil, pastel and pencil on panel (framed)
9 1/2 x 12 1/2 ins.
24 x 31.6 cm

Sanam Khatibi, I’ve watched you at garden parties, 2021

Sanam Khatibi
I’ve watched you at garden parties, 2021
oil, pastel and pencil on panel
9 1/2 x 12 1/2 ins.
24 x 31.6 cm

Sanam Khatibi, Sonnets to Orpheus, 2021

Sanam Khatibi
Sonnets to Orpheus, 2021
oil, pastel and pencil on panel
9 1/2 x 12 1/2 ins.
24 x 31.6 cm

Sanam Khatibi, With eyes that seem to burn, 2019

Sanam Khatibi
With eyes that seem to burn, 2019
oil on panel
6 1/2 x 8 3/8 ins.
16.4 x 21.2 cm

Sanam Khatibi, To the last syllable of recorded time, 2019

Sanam Khatibi
To the last syllable of recorded time, 2019
oil and pencil on canvas
78 3/4 x 98 3/8 ins.
200 x 250 cm

Sanam Khatibi, This is the beast with a thousand mouths, that must be fed twice a day, 2019

Sanam Khatibi
This is the beast with a thousand mouths, that must be fed twice a day, 2019
oil and pencil on canvas
70 7/8 x 90 1/2 ins.
180 x 230 cm