Sorahi Rafati

Sarah Rafati (b.1997, Tehran, Iran). The principal method in her artworks has been collage on paper. She uses a palette of colored paper to trace her pencil sketches on it. Once entered performance phase, her drawings are changeable and she has no insistence on keeping their primary forms. Basically, changeability, destruction and reconstruction of a collage are considered to be a formidable feature for Sorahi that evoke the artist’s subconscious. 

In her previous collection, “Big Big Party”, she demonstrated man’s condition in sceneries that all referred to Iran. Now, however, geography is not of utmost importance for her, her new works are defined in a geography in her mind. Instinctiveness and free creation are the highest priorities in Sorahi’s artworks. She is currently making an animation of her collages and hopes to keep her quest of mediums. She lives and works in Tehran. 

Sorahi’s second Solo exhibition with Soo “Daddy issues” focuses on her childhood issues. Meanwhile, Sarahi’s storyboard shows her everyday contemporary life but underneath the story, we can find other stories. Sorahi changed her medium from collage to oil painting and plaster sculptures in her new series 2023.

https://soocontemporary.com/sorahi-rafati/

Shirin Gharavisky (Tehran, Iran) is the founding director of Soo Contemporary. After finishing her university studies in Industrial Engineering and working on construction projects and project management in Iran, she moved to Toronto, Canada to pursue an artistic career and study art. There she studied at the Ontario College of Art & Design University (OCAD U) and obtained a BA degree in Fine Arts. In 2017, she returned to Tehran to establish an art gallery in the Iranian capital. As so, Soo Contemporary was founded in Tehran in 2017. 

Soo’s first venue, located in the north of Tehran, served as an interim space for two years while Shirin simultaneously managed a large renovation project at the current venue of Soo Contemporary in downtown Tehran. Under her direction, Soo showcases works and projects by some of the youngest generations of Iranian artists, fresh talents, cutting-edge media, and new genres, as well as promoting its spectrum of interest in more traditional media as well as emerging and more established artists. 

Soo Contemporary has become a space for artistic expression, having hosted more than 80 exhibitions that have brought together the talents of over 230 artists. In addition to her directorial role, Shirin has served as the curator for 10 exhibitions at Soo, promoting her perspective on contemporary art. 

Continuing these efforts, in 2020, her passion for art transcended conventional spaces as she founded Soo Community, an initiative that goes beyond the confines of a physical space. Soo Community has hosted 10 site-specific projects and events that focus on the underground currents in the Iranian art scene, connecting artists with a wider audience and making possible boundless artistic expressions. 

Establishment of Soo Contemporary Art Gallery

“Soo Contemporary” is a contemporary art gallery in Tehran, Iran. While mainly focusing on showcasing the youngest generations of Iranian artists, fresh talents, cutting-edge media and new genres, Soo also seeks to promote its spectrum of interest in more traditional media as well as emerging and more established artists.

With a multifaceted program that includes smaller-scale installations, site-specific projects, larger exhibitions, and multimedia and audiovisual events, Soo caters to the discerning audience base of Tehran’s vibrant art scene. Established in 2017 by director Shirin Gharavisky, after two years of working at an interim space in the northern neighborhoods of …
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