Meet Sara Rahbar

In partnership with BMW, this month's Art Dubai Portrait focuses on Sara Rahbar, an Iranian artist living and working in New York.

Rahbar expresses dark and complex concepts surrounding nationalism and belonging within her artistic practice, stemming from personal experiences and leaving Tehran during a period of immense upheaval that followed the revolution and the start of the Iran-Iraq war. Often using abstract objects that she actively collects, Rahbar pieces together her creations which take form in a variety of mediums ranging from photography, sculpture and installation. Her approach of dissecting and assembling components is reflective of her need to deconstruct these emotions and apocalyptic memories that have moulded her into the artist and activist she is today.

Rahbar has exhibited widely in art institutions including Queensland Museum, Brisbane; Sharjah Art Foundation; Venice Biennial; The Centre Pompidou, Paris; and Mannheimer Kunstverein. Her works are included in the permanent collections of the British Museum, London; The Centre Pompidou, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; The Davis Museum at Wellesley College, Boston; and Sharjah Art Foundation amongst others.

Art Dubai Portraits is a film series that provides a short perspective into the lives and workspaces of artists that are connected to the fair through its programming or participating galleries. The Art Dubai Portraits are produced in collaboration with Forward James Filmmakers.