Samira Abbassy: An Autobiography & Other Confessions

XVA Gallery will present the first solo exhibition in the UAE of Iranian artist Samira Abbassy (b. 1965, Ahwaz, Iran).
 An Autobiography & Other Confessions will consist of oil paintings on canvas, gesso panel and works on paper, from 2009-2014. Abbassy’s works are very process based, exploring ideas of cultural identity as expressed through self-portraits and re-interpreted stories of her homeland.

The artist states “I use self-portraiture as a way of examining and defining myself in a constantly shifting cultural context. Although seemingly autobiographical, the figures are not me, but ‘the archetypal self’. ‘The Self’ is examined as a phenomenon which combines autobiographical, cultural, psychic and chemical aspects, in which events/ narratives become incorporated into or cause dismemberment of the body.”

Samira Abbassy is a New York based Iranian artist.
After graduating from Canterbury College of Art, she began exhibiting in London. In 1988 she moved to New York to help establish & found the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts Studio Program NY, where she currently has lifetime tenure and is a board member.
Her work is shown internationally and has been acquired for private and public collections, including: the Metropolitan Museum, the British Museum, the Donald Rubin collection, the Farjam Collection(Dubai), the Devi Foundation (India) and the Omid Foundation (Iran), among others.
During her carreer she received different awards, including a NYFA in 2007, a Joan Mitchell Painting/Sculpture award in 2010 and a Pollock-Krasner award in 2014.