Project Series 52: Hayv Kahraman

Exhibition Website

Sep 4 2018 - Dec 22 2018

Los Angeles-based artist Hayv Kahraman creates exquisite figurative paintings on large linen panels that depict a singular woman with iridescent pale skin and inky black hair. Frequently presented in a group of identical female figures, the woman often appears nude or clad in shawls decorated with Islamic geometric patterns. The artist borrows from a multiplicity of styles, including Persian miniatures, Japanese illustrations, and Italian Renaissance paintings in the composition of the woman’s poses and appearance, creating a discourse between Eastern “otherness” and Western concepts of beauty

In her most recent work, Kahraman has incorporated a weaving technique drawn from the Iraqi hand-woven fans called mahaffa—one of her few family heirlooms.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.         

  • Painting
  • American
  • Contemporary
  • Ethnic / Gender
  • Hayv Kahraman

Exhibition Venues & Dates