Biography

Babak Golkar

USA

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Installation

Babak Golkar
Born in USA
Currently lives and works in Vancouver

Born in the United States, raised in Tehran and having lived between Canada and the Middle East since 1996, Babak Golkar has developed bodies of work, which navigate and negotiate the space between cultural and socio-economical registers. His research-based art practice is centred on seemingly contradictory forms, shapes and material. Often engaging syncretic strategies, Golkar juxtaposes several disparate traditions, asserting an underlying common ground, allowing for an inclusive approach to multi- layered reading. These strategies are implemented by exploring the potential of how ideas and forms transform between diverse contexts and systems and how new forms—and by extension, new meanings—emerge from re-contextualization.
The results of Golkar’s research and associated practice have been actively exhibited in local, national and international venues including: The Victoria and Albert Museum (London), BrotKunsthalle (Vienna), Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art (Thessaloniki), Southern Exposure (Los Angeles) and Sanatorium Project (Istanbul). His upcoming engagements include participating in a group exhibition at Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris and a solo exhibition at West Vancouver Museum.

Education:

2006. Masters of Fine Arts, University of British Columbia
2003. Bachelors of Fine Arts, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design

Selected solo exhibitions:

2020. The Longer You Can Look Back, The Farther You Can Look Forward, Sabrina Amrani Gallery, Madrid, Spain. Curator: Jal Hamad
2019. The Elephant (an intermission), Sabrina Amrani Gallery, Madrid, Spain. Curator: Jal Hamad
2019. All The Blind Men, Servais Family Collection, Brussels, Belgium. Curator: Kimberley Phillips
2016. In No Particular Hurry. Galeria Sabrina Amrani, Madrid, Spain. Curator: Jal Hamad
2016. a fair day's wage for a fair day's work. Edel Assanti Gallery, London, United Kingdom. Curator: Jeremy Epstein
2016. La Collection Imaginaire, Institute for New Connotative Action, Seattle, U.S.A. Curators: Aeron Bergman and Alejandra Salinas
2014. Of Labour, Of Dirt. Sazmanab, Tehran, Iran, Curator: Elham Puriyamehr
2014. The Return Project. Third Line Gallery, Dubai, U.A.E.
2014. Time To Let Go…. Vancouver Art Gallery: Offsite, Vancouver, Canada, Curator: Diana Freundl
2013. T.B.D. West Vancouver Museum, West Vancouver, Canada. Curated by Darrin Morrison Ground for Standing and Understanding VOLTA NY Featured Project, New York City, U.S.A.
2012. Parergon. Sharjah Contemporary Art Museum, Sharjah, U.A.E. Curated by Moza Ali Al Shamsi
2012. Ground for Standing and Understanding. Charles H. Scott Gallery, Vancouver, Canada. Curated by Greg Bellerby
2012. Friday Late Special Project. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, U.K. Curated by Salma Tuqan
2012. Spatial Transformation. Hilger Contemporary, Vienna, Austria. Curated by Michael Kaufmann
2011. Parergon. Third Line Gallery, Dubai, UAE. Curated by Sunny Rahbar Parergon. C.S.A. Space, Vancouver, Canada. Curated by Steven Tong
2011. Black Cube: Moving Toward the Abstract Light. Sanatorium, Istanbul, Turkey. Curated by Güher Gurmen
2007. Then, Now and Then. Republic Gallery, Vancouver, Canada. Curated by Pantea Haghighi
2005. Dear Joseph: Happy 84th Birthday. Lobby Gallery, Vancouver, Canada, curated by Wes Cameron and Matt Robertson
2003. the philosophy and science of mutation. Centre A Gallery, Vancouver, Canada, Curated by Sadira Rodrigous Throne. XENO gallery, Vancouver, Canada, Curated by Mo Salemi

Selected group exhibitions:

2020. Contemporary Ceramics (Postponed), Victoria and Albert Museum. London, United Kingdom. Curator: Mariam Rosser-Owen
2020. Crocodile Tears, UNIT 17, Vancouver, Canada. Curator: Tobin Gibson
2019. Ionic Bonds. Kamloops Art Gallery, Kamloops, Canada. Curator: Charo Neville
2018. Dérapages & Post-Bruises Imaginaries. The Loft, Brussels, Belgium. Curator: Dragos Olea
2018. Here: Locating Contemporary Canadian Artists. Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, Canada. Curator: Swapnaa Tamhane
2018. Roadside Attractions. Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina, Canada. Curator: Jennifer Matotek
2018. N. VANCOUVER. Polygon Gallery, North Vancouver, Canada. Curator: Reid Shier
2017. When Form Becomes Attitude. Contemporary Calgary, Calgary, Canada. Curator: Noa Bronstein
2017. Mementos. Artists’ Souvenirs, Artifacts and Other Curiosities. Hotel de la Poste, Brussels, Belgium. Curators: Jens Hoffmann and Piper Marshall
2017. Regarding George Ohr: Contemporary Ceramics in the Spirit of the Mad Potter. Boca Raton Museum of Art. FL, U.S.A.. Curator: Garth Clark
2017. Long, Winding Journeys. Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, New York, U.S.A.. Curator: Elizabeth Rooklidge
2016. Metatextile: Ruptured Narratives, Exchanged Values. Edel Assanti Gallery, London, U.K., Curator: Jeremy Epstein
2016. Object Oriented Apology. Institute for New Connotative Action, Seattle, U.S.A. Curators: Aeron Bergman and Alejandra Salinas
2016. The Ink Jet Show, Art Labour Gallery, Shanghai, China. Curator: Martin Kemble
2016. Mass Individualism, Ab/Anbar, Tehran, Iran. Curator: Azadeh Zaferani
2015. Residue: The Persistence of the Real. Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Curator: Grant Arnold
2015. Crisis of History – Beyond History,  Framer Framed, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Curator: Elham Puriyamehr
2015. Common Grounds, Museum Villa Stvck, Munich, Germany. Curator: Verena Hein
2015. Heaven and Hell, Fondation Boghossian - Villa Empain, Bruxelles, Belgium. Curators: Diane Hennebert and Christophe Dosogne
2014. L'avenir: La Biennale de Montréal (9th edition). Musée d’art Contemporain de Montréal, Director: Sylvie Fortin, Curators: Peggy Gale and Gregory Burke (October-February 2015)
2014. La Route Bleue. National Museum Adrien Dubouché, Limoges, France. Curators: Etienne Blondeau and Céline Paul
2014. Music Palace. Fondation Boghossian - Villa Empain, Bruxelles, Belgium. Curator: Diana Wiegersma (September-January)
2014. Hajj, le pèlerinage à La Mecque. Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France. Curator: Omar Saghi (April-August)
2014. The Language of Human Consciousness. Athr Gallery, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Curator: Mohammad Hafiz (July-Oct)
2013. T.B.D. ARC/Musée d'Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, Curated by Anne Dressen
2012. #COMETOGETHER. EOA Project, London, U.K. Curated by Stephen Stapleton
2012. Contemporary Iranian Art. New Albion Gallery, Sydney, Australia. Curated by Doug Hall
2012. COME INVEST IN US. YOU’LL STRIKE GOLD. BrotKunsthalle, Vienna, Austria. Curated by Diana Wiegersma
2012. Jameel Prize Exhibition. Casa Arabe, Madrid, Spain
2011. The Bravery of Being out of |Range|. Athr Gallery, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Curated by Aya Haidar
2011. Roaming Images: Crossroads of Greek and Arab Culture Through the Eyes of Contemporary Artists. Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Greece. Curated by Iara Boubnova
2011. Jameel Prize Exhibitions. Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris
2011. Jameel Prize Exhibitions. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, U.K., Curated by Salma Tuqan
2011. Expositions. Blanket Gallery, Vancouver, Canada. Curated by Natalia Tkachev
2011. Tension. Hezy Cohen Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel. Curated by Yael Katz Ben Shalom
2011. Art Dubai. The Third Line Gallery
2011. Art Beat. Istanbul Art Fair, Istanbul, Turkey. The Third Line Gallery
2011. Istanbul Contemporary Art Fair, Istanbul, Turkey. Hilger Contemporary
2010. Time After Time. Southern Exposure, Los Angeles, USA. Curated by Valerie Imus and Taraneh Hemami
2010. The Promise of Loss. A Contemporary Index of Iran. Arario Gallery, New York City, USA. Curated by Shaheen Merali
2010. Frieze Art Fair. The Third Line Gallery, London, U.K.
2010. Artissima. The Third Line Gallery, Turin, Italy
2009. The Promise of Loss. A Contemporary Index of Iran. Galerie Hilger BrotKunsthalle, Vienna, Austria. Curated by Shaheen Merali
2009. ArtBasel-Miami. Hilger Contemporary Infinite Egress. Surrey Art Gallery, Surrey, Canada. Curated by Jordan Strom
2009. Nuit Blanche. Toronto, Canada. Curated by Makiko Hara (Public)
2009. Folter in der Kultur–Kultur der Folter. Artneuland Project, Berlin, Germany. Curated by Yael Katz Ben Shalom
2008. My Favorite Pastime, WL-Project, Hong Kong. Curated by Kathrin Becker in collaboration with Silvia Anna Barirlà and Hanna Jacobi
2008. Prequel. Gallery Atsui, Vancouver, Canada. Curated by Wesley Cameron and Matt Robertson: Until We Have A Helicopter
2008. Moodyville. Presentation House Gallery, North Vancouver, Canada. Curated by Helga Pakassar
2008. Orientalism and Ephemera. Centre A Gallery, Vancouver, Canada. /Kenderdine Art Gallery, University of Saskatchewan, SK. Curated by Jamelie Hassan
2008. Interior of Design. Republic Gallery, Vancouver, Canada. Curated by Jordan Strom
2007. Emergency Biennale. Centre A Gallery, Vancouver / Istanbul / San Francisco. Curated by Evelyne Jouanno
2007. I Love What You Do. Drake Hotel, Toronto, Canada. Curated by Nicole Raufeisen & Ryan Witt
2006. Prologue I. Republic Gallery, Vancouver, Canada. Curated by Pantea Haghighi
2006. The Wrong Gallery Edition #125. Lobby Gallery, Vancouver, Canada (Co-Curated by Wes Cameron and Matt Robertson)
2006. World Urban Forum. Vancouver, Canada. Curated by Simon Levin
2005. Canadian Night. Bergen Kunsthall: Landmark, Bergen, Norway. Curated by Carly Haddon and Kevin Griesch
2005. Horses for Courses. Morris and Helen Belkin art gallery, Vancouver, Canada Organized by Keith Wallace
2005. This Experiment. Butchershop Gallery, Vancouver, Canada. Curated by Wes Cameron
2004. At Play. Liu Haisu Museum, Shanghai, China. Curated by Sadira Rodrigues
2004. Lucky 13. Belkin Satellite gallery, Vancouver, Canada

Curatorial projects:

2013. Friendship of Nations. Slavs and Tatars. Presentations House Gallery. North
Vancouver, Canada
2012. Even the Stars Seem To Be Changing Their Position. Lyndl Hall and Erdem Taşdelen. Sanatorium Project, Istanbul, Turkey
2006. The Wrong Gallery Edition #125. Lobby Gallery, Vancouver, Canada. (Co-Curated with Wes Cameron and Matt Robertson) Artists included: Instant Coffee, Hadley and Mawell, Henry Tsang, David MacWilliam, Mark DeLong, David Young, Étienne Zack
2003. A-MEN. Concourse Gallery, ECIAD, Vancouver, Canada (Co-Curated with Sergio Toporek)
2002. FLUX. Concourse Gallery, ECIAD, Vancouver, Canada

Bibliography:

2012. James, Gareth. Grounds for Standing and Understanding, Art Forum, May 2012 pg. 318.
2012. Vali, Murtaza. Babak Golkar: Funny Frames, Harpers Bazaar Art, January 2012 pg s. 70-74.
2012. Laurence, Robin. Persian carpets rise in 3-D, Georgia Straight, 25 Jan 2012
2012. Harris, Michael. Grounds for Standing and Understanding, Galleries West, 4 March 2012
2012. Starnes, Jason. Negotiating Symbolic Space, Usurping the Big Other, catalogue essay
2012. Boubnova, Iara. Grounds for Standing and Understanding, catalogue essay
2011. Taşdelen, Erdem. The Logic of Parerga, catalogue essay
2011. Lord, Christopher. Babak Golkar explores shifting meanings through picture frames, The National, U.A.E. 13 November 2011
2011. Lord, Christopher. Jameel Prize 2011 shortlist develops art from craftwork, The
National, U.A.E. 14 July 2011
2011. Jameel Prize: Art Contemporian D’inspiration Islamique, Art Absolument: Numéro Spécial
2011. Ibrahim, Dina. Architectural Psychology, ArteEast
2011. Kiger, Rumeysa. Golkar’s installation takes visitors back to their childhood,
Today’s Zaman, Istanbul. 12 June 2011
2011. Utkan, Hatice. ‘Black Cube’ moves, freedom vanishes, Hurriyet. Istanbul, 2 June 2011
2011. Güleşçi, Pırıl. Siyah küpün içinde ne var? (What’s Inside the Black Cube?), Haber Turk, Istanbul. 18 June 2011
2010. Lee. Sasha M. Daily Serving
2010.http://dailyserving.com/2010/08/interview-with-babak-golkar/ (August 2010)
2010. Nateghi, Behnam. Voice of America interview. January 2010
2009. Hurtig, Annette. An Extended Dérive in a Terrain Passional, The Capilano Review, pgs.120-127, Spring 2009 issue
2005. Witt Ryan. Portrait of an artist, Georgia Straight. 29 September 2005
2005. Hampton, Maria. Metro Newspaper Vancouver
2005. Burnham, Clint. Horses for Courses. Vancouver
2005. Sun Harris, Elayne. Horses For Courses: We Are Sorry. Catalogue essay

Awards:

2017. Sobey Awards–Long list, Ottawa, Canada
2016. Davidoff Art Initiative, Altos de Chavón, Dominican Republic 
2011. Nominated and shortlisted for The Victoria and Albert Museum’s Jameel Prize. London, U.K.
2011. Nominated and shortlisted for Magic of Persia Contemporary Art Prize London, U.K.
2011. Co-presented by The Royal College of Art, Saatchi Gallery and Christie’s Auction house
2010. Canada Council for the Arts Producti on Grant. Ottawa, Canada
2010. British Columbia Arts Council Production Grant. Victoria, Canada
2009. British Columbia Arts Council Production Grant. Victoria, Canada
2006. VADA Award. Vancouver, B.C.
2004. B.C. Binning Drawing Scholarship. Vancouver, Canada
2003. Helen Pitt Award. Vancouver, Canada

Teaching:

2009-2011. Sessional Faculty of Graduate Studies. Visual, Media Arts and Design Departments, Emily Carr University, Vancouver, Canada
2005-2011. Sessional Faculty of Undergraduate Studies. Visual Arts Department, Emily Carr University, Vancouver, Canada
2005-2006. Sessional Faculties. Department of Art History and Visual Art, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
2004-2008. Sessional Faculty. Faculty of Digital Design, Vancouver Film School, Vancouver, Canada

Other professional experieces:

2012. Artist Residency, Delfina Foundation, London, U.K.
2008-2009. Program Coordinator, Masters of Applied Arts, Emily Carr University, Vancouver, Canada
2006. Summer Interim Curator at Centre A Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2006. Spring Guest Instructor, Arts & Culture Commission of North Vancouver, Canada
2003-2004. Research Assistant, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada