Samira Alikhanzadeh (born 1967) is an Iranian artist who lives and works in Tehran.
Born in Tehran, she began painting under the supervision of Aydin Aghdashloo. She studied painting at Alzahra University and earned a BFA in Painting in 1996 and an MA in Painting in 1998 at Islamic Azad University.

Alikhanzadeh uses acrylic paint, mirrors and old found images, mainly family photographs, in her work.

She uses these images from the past to explore identity and reality in modern Iran. Some works also include actual Persian carpets to evoke the past. Alikhanzadeh work has appeared in exhibitions in the United Arab Emirates, Canada, the United States, France, Italy and England. She has taken part in over 30 exhibitions and art fairs in North America, Europe and the Middle East since 1995. In addition to her works being part of important private collections worldwide, two works from her Carpet series were acquired by LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) in 2010.

Being fascinated with the issues of identity and reality in relation to past and present and finding inspiration in the melancholic and humoristic quality of old images, Alikhanzadeh uses old found photographs, mainly family photos of the 1940s and 50s to create her artworks. Whereas initially she used photographs in her collage work, in her latest works, her images are printed digitally on either wooden boards or Perspex. By using mirror, she playfully manages the viewers’ own presence in the work.

Whereas initially she used photographs in her collage work, in her latest works, her images are printed digitally on either wooden boards or Perspex. By using mirror, she playfully manages the viewers’ own presence in the work.

That presence itself is manipulated even further through the usage of diagonal mirrors in order to create distorted and unreal images in some of her later works. Moreover, she enjoys experimenting with new materials and in addition to her main and recurring tools of mirrors and acrylic, she is also keen on using real carpets in some of her works.

To me, the people in the family album photos have always seemed alive, attractive and even beautiful. But the main inspiration for me to use them in my work has always been Alas! they no longer live. It’s years and decades now that their lives have ended and they are now being decomposed and decayed beneath the ground. But on the other hand, they are still with us; because of the photos that we have and this is the miracle and magic of image The artist says.

2018: The Shapes of Birds, Newport Art Museum, Newport, USA
2018: Modern Beauty, Nicolas Flamel Gallery, Paris, France
2017: Mirrors, the Hub, Kuwait
2017: Presence, Reflections on the Middle East, CVA, Denver, USA
2016: Made in Iran, Kunstverein Konstanz, Constance, Germany
2016: Made in Iran, AB Gallery, Lucerne, Switzerland
2016: RTL – LTR, Galerie Forum, Wels, Austria
2016: RTL – LTR, Artmark Galerie, Vienna, Austria
2016: Iran Art Now, Setareh Gallery, Dusseldorf, Germany
2016: Assar Artists’ Annual Group Exhibition, Assar Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2015: The Secrets of Eternity, Silk Road Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2015: Contemporary Art of the Middle East, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, USA
2015: “Jahan Pahlevan” Takhti, Ahwaz Museum of Contemporary Art, Ahwaz, Iran
2014: Neo-Traditionalism in Contemporary Iranian Art (Approaches to Tradition), Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran, Iran
2014: “Portraits: Reflections by Emerging Iranian Artists”, Rouge Gallery, New York, USA
2014: Contemporary Iranian Photography, California State University, Los Angeles, USA
2013: Final Encore 2 – Dastan’s Basement Gallery- Tehran
2013: 2Q13, Woman Artists, Woman Collectors, Lloyds club, London,UK
2013: Peace from the bottom of my art, Opera Gallery, London, UK
2012: The Other Half Of Iran, SEM-ART Gallery, Monaco
2012: Inbetweeness, Mahe-Mehr Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2012: No Subject, 1×1 Gallery, Dubai,UAE
2012: The Elephant in the Dark, Devi Art Foundation, Gurgaon, India
2011: Nero gallery, Wiesbaden,Germany
2010: I Am Not Half the Man I Used to Be, Dar Al Funoon Gallery, Kuwait
2010: Yek, do, se (1, 2, 3): Three Contemporary Iranian Artists, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, USA
2010: Recent Self Portraits, Silk Road Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2010: Iran Inside Out, Farjam Collection, Dubai, UAE
2010: AB Gallery, Lucerne, Switzerland
2010: The Other, Mohsen Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2009: Dar Al Funoon, Kuwait
2009: Routes II, Waterhouse & Dodd Gallery, London, Uk
2009: Off the Loom: The Persian Carpet in Contemporary Iranian Art, Assar Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2009: Guns and Roses, Eleven Howland Gallery, London, UK
2009: Self Portraits, Tarahan Azad Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2009: Masques of Shahrazad, Mall Gallery, London, UK
2008: Whispered Secrets, Murmuring Dreams, Mall Gallery, London, UK
2008: Wishes and Dreams, Iran’s new Generation Emerges, New York Academy of Art, New York, USA
2008: Planting New Roots, Dar Al-Funoon Galley, Kuwait
2007: 32 Oskou, Students of Aydin Aghdashloo, Iranian Artists’ Forum, Tehran, Iran
2007: Broken Promises, Forbidden Dreams, Iran Heritage Foundation, London, UK
2007: Assar Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2007: Wishes and Dreams, Iran’s new Generation Emerges, Meridian International Center, Washington DC, USA
2007: Self Portrait, Iranian Artists’ Forum, Society of Iranian Painters, Tehran, Iran
2004: Trois Regards Persans, Salle Polyvalente de la Mediatheque, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
2003: Palme e Palmizi, Palazzo Allocca, Naples, Italy
2003: Guest Artist of the Dena Group, Esfahan Museum of Contemporary Art, Esfahan, Iran
2001: New Experiences, Society of Iranian Painters, Iranian Artists’ Forum, Tehran, Iran
2001: Contemporary Iranian Art Exhibition, Ataturk Cultural Center, Istanbul, Turkey
2001: Contemporary Iranian Art Exhibition, Modern Art Gallery, Ankara, Turkey
2001: Contemporary Iranian Drawing Exhibition, Barg Gallery, Tehran, Iran
1999: Contemporary Iranian Drawing Exhibition, Barg Gallery, Tehran, Iran