In her paintings, the Iranian artist develops her own distinctive visual language. By applying multiple thin layers using the almost-forgotten egg tempera technique and India ink, the artist produces color effects that evoke the Italian frescoes of the early Renaissance. The lush hues of the darker loops in the foreground of the picture contrast with the chalky tonality of the background. Although the artist is committed to non-representative painting, her paintings nonetheless convey a feeling of spatiality and conjure up associations with landscapes and figures. Assefjah’s pictorial worlds are characterized by lightness and structural density, with the alternation of transparency and opacity, daytime and darkness creating a mysterious and atmospheric quality.
From the catalog text: „Invitation to the Voyage“, by Clémence Cottard
Mojé Assefjah’s visual scripts bring to life our imagination; the spectator might sometimes see plant forms and other times, baroque drapery. The artist tells stories of dream landscapes, between abstraction and figuration.… is an invitation to a journey toward the horizon, a solitary stroll across the visible and sensible continuum’s theater, a window in which the world is seen and there “all would whisper1”.
1 Charles Baudelaire, Invitation to the Voyage, The Flowers of Evil, 1857
Born in 1970 in Tehran, Iran, and lives and works in Munich, Germany.
Her family moved to Germany in 1986. She studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich from 1992-1998 and was a master’s student under Prof. Jerry Zeniuk.
In 1999, she was awarded the Advancement Award for Fine Arts of the Federal Ministry for Education and Research, as well as the annual scholarship of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for a residency year in Rome.
In 2013, she continued her work in New York, within the framework of the residency program at the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP).
Since 1999 Assefjah’s work has been shown in several solo and group exhibitions in Europe, the Near East, Asia and the United States. Her work is represented in numerous international public collections including those of the museum Lenbachhaus; Munich, Pinakothek der Moderne; Munich, Graphische Sammlung; Munich and Guangdong Art Museum; China and BIZ, Bank fürInternationale Zahlungen, Switzerland.
Most recently the KiCo Foundation has acquired 6 paintings for the Lenbachaus.
Education:
1990 High School Diploma; guest student at the Escuela Superior de Bellas Artes
de Santa Isabel de Hungría, Sevilla, Spain
1991-92 Language studies of Japanese and Spanish at the Ludwig-Maximilians Universität, Munich, Germany
1992-98 The study of painting at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Munich,
honour student of Prof. Jerry Zeniuk
1999 Degree in Painting and Graphic Arts at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Munich, Germany
Exhibitions (selected):
2023 MENART, Galerie Tanit, Boghossian Foundation, Villa Empain, Brussels
Artfair BAMA, Joeun Gallery, Korea
“Dual Simplicity“, group show at Intent Gallery, Dubai
“My Song Of Love For You“, Open Art, Galerie Tanit, Munich (solo exhibition)
Fragments of Home, Cromwell Place, London
“Tales From The Waves”, Joeun Gallery, Seoul, Korea, (solo exhibition)
“As The Cliffs Touch The Sea“, Galerie Tanit, Beirut, Lebanon (solo exhibition)
2022 “Dip In The Past“at Lenbachhaus Munich; an interaction
Between the two collections of Lenbachhaus and in the KiCo Foundation
“I Can Still Feel The Breeze”, Joeun Gallery, Seoul, Korea, (solo exhibition)
MENART, galerie Tanit, Paris
Artfair BAMA, Joeun Gallery, Korea
Art Busan, Joeun Gallery,Korea
art:badgastein, galerie Nanna Preussners
“Embrace of Memory”, Neue Galerie Landshut, Germany, (solo exhibition)
„figuré et défiguré“, Gallery Etemad, Asia now , Paris
Art Kiaf, Joeun Gallery, Seoul, Korea
art miami, Joeun Gallery, USA
2021 Art Paris, “Solo Show”, represented by Galerie Tanit, a showcasing of
Monographic Exhibitions, Paris (solo exhibition)
“Something Blue”, groupshow at Cromwellplace, London
Intersect-21artfair, Palm Springs Edition, California
“There Are Birds Here Again”, Galerie Tanit / Starco, Beirut, Lebanon
(solo exhibition)
“Remembered Landscapes”, Gallery Etemad, Tehran, Iran (solo exhibition)
Shortlisted by Chus Martinez fort he WERK.STOFF award for painting, an exhibition of the 5nominated artists at Kunstverein Heidelberg, Germany
Group show at Joeun Gallery, Seoul, Korea
2020 project room 5, You Will Rise Up again, Open Art, Munich
Piasa, From Beirut Art and Design scene, Paris
“Paper Positions”, Munich, Galerie Nanna Preußners, Hamburg, Germany
2019 “Winding Roots”, with Susanne Thiemann, Galerie Nanna Preußners,
Hamburg, Germany
Groupshow at Galerie Graf und Schelble, Basel, Switzerland
“IMPROMPTU”, Groupshow, Galerie Tanit, Beyrouth, Lebanon
“,Female atists of the Middle East, FAME, TSICHRITZIS Visual art Foundation, Athens, Greece
“Paper Positions”, Munich, Galerie Nanna Preußners, Hamburg,
Germany
2018 “I Cover the Waterfront”, Galerie Graf und Schelble, Basel, Switzerland
“Mojé Assefjah / Anne Sterzbach” Neue Galerie Dachau, Dachau, Germany
Galerie Tanit at Art Cologne 2018, Cologne, Germany
2017 “ENTR’EXPO”, Galerie Graf und Schelble, Basel, Switzerland
“Gerissen gefalzt geschnitten gezeichnet”, Galerie Nanna Preußners, Hamburg, Germany
“Künstlerinnen aus dem Morgenland”, Galerie Tanit, Munich, Germany
Groupshow, Galerie Tanit, Beyrouth, Lebanon
Galleria Doris Ghetta, Ortisei, Italy
2016 “Morphology of the Archive”, Museum of Goa, (MOG), India
“Darmian”, Raum I, Galerie Tanit, Munich(solo)
“Zeiträume”, Brigitte Henninger, Munich, Germany
2015 “L’ Espace de la Feuille”, Galerie Tanit, Beyrouth, Lebanon
Artweek Luxembourg, Toxic gallery, Luxembourg
“On the Other Side Of the Grape Gardens”, Galerie Tanit, Beyrouth, Lebanon (solo exhibition)
“So close, yet so far”, Galerie Nanna Preußners, Hamburg, Germany (solo)
“Nostalgia, blau ist die Farbe deines Flügels”, Galerie Tanit, Munich, Germany (solo exhibition)
2014 “Down To The River”, Galerie Graf und Schelble, Basel, Switzerland, (solo)
“Best Of”, Galerie Nanna Preußners, Hamburg, Germany
“I Cover The Waterfront”, +R, Barcelona (solo exhibition)
Galerie Toxic, Luxembourg
Swab, Galeria +R, Barcelona
Estampa, Galeria +R, Madrid
Galerie Tanit at Beirut Art Fair, Lebanon
2013 Art Dubai, Galerie Tanit, Beyrouth, United Arab Emirates
ISCP, International Studio & Curatorial Program, New York
Swab, Galerie Tanit, Beyrouth, Barcelona, Spain
Art Elysees, Galerie Tanit, Munich, Paris, France
“Down To The River”, Galerie Graf und Schelble, Basel, Switzerland (solo)
2012 Art Dubai, Espace Kettaneh Kunigk, United Arab Emirates
Schaltwerk Kunst, Hamburg, Germany (solo)
“Il giardino e la duna”, Ecke Galerie Augsburg, Germany (solo exhibition)
2011 “A vista d’occhio”, Galerie Tanit, Munich, Germany (solo exhibition)
“BODILY FUNCTIONS”, Kunstverein Kölnberg, Cologne, Germany
“The Nightingale and the Rose”, Kunsthalle München, Munich, Germany
Ladiray Gallery, London, UK (solo exhibition)
2010 Galerie Graf und Schelble, Basel, Switzerland (Accrochage)
Zeitgenössische Kunst, Galerie Michael Schneider, Bonn, Germany
“Water for my flower, wind for my tree” Espace Kettaneh Kunigk, Beyrouth, Lebanon (solo exhibition) exhibition)
Galerie Graf und Schelble, Basel, Switzerland (solo exhibition)
2009 “L’Iran sans frontières”, Galerie Almine Rech, Paris, France
Zeitgenössische Kunst, Galerie Michael Schneider, Bonn, Germany
2008 “Go between”, Galerie Oberösterreichischer Kunstverein, Linz, Austria
“Go between”, Centre Cultural la Mercè, Girona, Spain (cat. illus.)
“Shabtab”, Galerie Tanit, Munich, Germany (solo exhibition)
2007 “Hochebene”, Zeitgenössische Kunst, Michael Schneider, Bonn, Germany
“Accrochage”, Residenzpost, Munich, Germany
“Go between”, Kunstraum Klosterkirche Traunstein, Germany (cat. illus.)
“Happy Hours”, Residenzpost, Munich, Germany
Galerie Graf und Schelble Basel, Switzerland (solo exhibition)
2006 “Begegnungen 2006”, Wehr-Öflingen a. o., Germany (cat. illus.)
“Zeitgenössische Positionen”, Residenzpost, Munich, Germany
“Jam-avary”, OSRAM ART PROJECTS, Munich, Germany (solo
“Go between”, Kunstverein Aichach, Germany (cat. illus.)
2005 “Universal Painting”, Guandong Museum of Art, Guangzhou,
Shanghai, China
Galerie S 65, Cologne, Germany (solo exhibition)
“Munich School?”, Kunstverein Aschaffenburg, Germany (cat. illus.)
Galerie Koos und Heufelder, Munich, Germany (solo exhibition)
2004 “Tableau”, Galerie der Künstler, Munich, Germany
“Papiere und kleine Formate”, Zeitgenössische Kunst, Michael Schneider, Bonn, Germany
“Works on paper”, Galerie S 65, Cologne, Germany
“The seven garden”, Art Basel, Basel, Switzerland (solo exhibition)
“Projectroom”, Galerie S 65, Aalst, Belgium
“Munich School?”, Kunstverein Aichach, Germany (cat. illus.)
Galerie im Schlosspavillon, Ismaning, Germany
2003 Galerie Benninger, Cologne, Germany (solo exhibition)
“Dialog”, Wehr-Öflingen a. o., Germany (cat. illus.)
“Landschaften”, Kunsthandel Marion Grcic-Ziersch, Munich, Germany
2002 Piccolo Palazzo d’ Arte, Merano, Italy (solo exhibition)
Galerie Martin Geier, Algund, Italy (solo exhibition)
Zeitgenössische Kunst, Michael Schneider, Bonn, Germany (solo )
2001 “Arbeiten auf Papier”, Galerie Heinz Herzer, Munich, Germany
“Malerdebatte”, Zeitgenössische Kunst, Michael Schneider, Bonn, Germany
Galerie Meister H. S., Ehrenkirchen, Germany (solo exhibition)
2000 “Fließende Zeit – Kunst für Diakonie”, Wehr-Öflingen a. o., Germany
“was einem bleibt”, Kunstverein Friedberg, in Wetterau-Museum (solo exhibition), Friedberg/Hessen, Germany (cat. illus.)
Galerie Benninger, Cologne, Germany (solo exhibition)
Galerie Heinz Herzer (single exhibition), Munich, Germany (catalogue)
1999 “Kunststudenten stellen aus” at the Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle of the Federal Republic of Germany, at Bonn (cat. illus.)
“stadt Kunst bonn” at the Bonn Collection of Aegyptiaca, by the Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle of the Federal Republic of Germany, Bonn, Germany
“Arcus Raetiae”, Bahnhofsgelände Mals, Italy
Galerie Heinz Herzer, Munich, Germany (solo exhibition)
Galerie Benninger ,Cologne, Germany (solo exhibition)
1997 Max-Planck-Institut, Munich, Germany
Awards and Scholarships:
1995 Erasmus Scholarship at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Madrid, Spain
1999 Arts Grant, federal competition by Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
1999-2000 Annual Scholarship of the DAAD for Rome, Italy
2000 Grant of the GOLART-STIFTUNG:
Mural painting, Kunstverein Friedberg, Wetterau-Museum,
Friedberg, Germany
2006-07 Scholarship of the HWP: “The Other View”, Munich, Germany
2013 Residency at ISCP (International Studio & Curatorial Program),
New York
2021 Shortlisted for the WERK.STOFF award for painting by
Chus Martinez, Head of Basel Art Institut
Public Sales
Municipal Gallery at the Lehnbachhaus, Munich, Germany; Artothek, Munich, Germany; Gabriele Münter- and Johannes Eichner Foundation, Munich, Germany; Max-Planck-Institut, Munich, Germany; HypoVereinsbank, Munich, Germany; Colonia Nordstern Art Insurance Company; HUK-Coburg; Siemens AG, Munich, Germany; Allianz Insurance, Munich, Germany; D.A.S. Insurance; LHI Leasing GmbH; Collection BHW Holding AG, Hameln, Germany; Hamburg Mannheimer, Hamburg, Germany; Association of the Sparda Banks, Frankfurt a. M., Germany; Münchner Rückversicherung, München, Germany; Pinakothek der Moderne, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich, Germany; DekaBank-Kunstsammlung, Frankfurt a. Main, Germany; Guangdong Art Museum, China; Collection Osram, Munich, Germany; Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich, Germany; Deutsche Apotheker- und Ärztebank, Düsseldorf/Munich, Germany; Studiensammlung der Diözese Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany; Colección olorVISUAL, Barcelona, Spain; BIZ Bank für internationale Zahlungsausgleich, Basel, Switzerland;
Most recent: 6 paintings acquired by KiCo Foundation for the Lenbachhaus
