Hiva Alizadeh: Bare in the Garden

10 January – 1 February

Hiva Alizadeh
Bare in the Garden
Hiva Alizadeh

Hiva Alizadeh (b. 1989, Kerman, Iran) lives and works in London, UK. Alizadeh is a self-trained artist whose work is rooted in the Persian tradition and the millenary skill of weaving Kerman carpets, although he applies his technique and knowledge to a different material, creating a contemporary interpretation of traditional textures, adding a cosmopolitan and psychic touch. Alizadeh’s woven tapestries are created using synthetic hair extensions that he composes in vibrant chromatic landscapes. These multicolored landscapes embody a complex interpretation of Eastern and Western cultural mechanisms in the contemporary global era.

Solo Exhibitions include (Upcoming) Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Tower Bridge, London, UK (2025); “Hiva Alizadeh”, Lajevardi Foundation, Tehran, Italy (2024); Fire in the Garden of Eden, The Flat – Massimo Carasi, Milan Italy (2023); Double solo show with Osaretin Ugiagbe, The Flat/ Sarahcrown booth, Miami Beach, USA (2021); Nomad Chants, The Flat – Massimo Carasi, Milan, Italy (2019); Width Forty Length Fifty-five, AKNOON Art Gallery, Esfahan, Iran (2018); Scenery, Shirin Gallery of Contemporary Art, Tehran, Iran (2017); Play, Shirin Gallery of Contemporary Art, Tehran, Iran (2017); Ping-Pong, Shirin Gallery of Contemporary Art, Tehran, Iran (2016); Mirror Calligraphy, Twenty-six Gallery of Contemporary Art, Kerman, Iran (2015); Tree, Shahkaar Gallery of Contemporary Art, Kerman, Iran (2013); Frames, Shahkaar Gallery of Contemporary Art, Kerman, Iran (2012).
Group Exhibitions include Falsi Paradisi/ False Paradises, The Flat – Massimo Carasi, Milan, Italy (2024); Threshold, NIA New Image Art Gallery, Los Angeles, USA (2024); Art Rotterdam, Van Nellefabriek, The Flat – Massimo Carasi, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (2024); Al Dente: A Feast for the Senses, Berntson Bhattacharjee, London, UK (2023); ArtVerona Fair, The Flat – Massimo Carasi, Verona, Italy (2023); Palazzo Monti in London, London, UK (2023); Hiva Alizadeh & AbarStudio, Inja Studio, Tehran, Iran (2023); Birthing, Etemad Gallery, Tehran, Iran (2023); The Art of Investing, Bank – ogSparekasse Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark; Asia Now, Etemad Gallery, Paris, France (2022); Solid Air, The Flat – Massimo Carasi, Milan, Italy (2022); ArtVerona Fair, The Flat – Massimo Carasi, Verona, Italy (2022); ALT: group show, Galerie Robertson Ares, Montreal, Canada (2022); Structure of a Flow (double solo show with Kenta Cobayashi), Metronom, Modena, Italy (2022); Dallas Art Fair 2022, The Flat/ Sarahcrown booth, Dallas, USA (2022).

Highlights and collections

Alizadeh’s work is present in public and private collections throughout Europe, the Middle East, China and the USA. This includes important institutions and foundations such as AkzoNobel Art Foundation in Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Palazzo Monti in Brescia (Italy), Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation in Los Angeles (USA), Spring Collection, Kerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Iran, and most recently, The Ned Doha Art Collection and Clara&Nico Collection in Italy.
Bare in the Garden

Thick, glossy manes of multicoloured hair carve out sculptural forms, resembling portals, mystical creatures, sacred altars, floral arrangements. Iranian artist Hiva Alizadeh’s practice is rooted in the Persian tradition of carpet weaving and the spiritual symbolism of hair across different cultures. Bare in the Garden, his first solo exhibition at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Tower Bridge, explores the idea of a garden not just as a physical space, but as a psychological realm – a state defined by harmony, introspection and connectedness with nature.

Alizadeh has been working with hair for nearly a decade. Through his practice he pays tribute to the Persian tradition of rug making while bringing his own, distinctly contemporary aesthetic. Each composition is the result of a precise and meditative process, involving sewing synthetic hair strands onto wooden frames. Following the ancient belief that an artist’s emotional energy is translated into his art, he attempts to enter into making each new piece with a clear mind and a positive outlook.

This meditative approach is also connected to his choice of material. In many cultures, including ancient Persia, hair is regarded as a symbol of the connection between humans and the spiritual realm. In Zoroastrianism, it represents the continuous flow of life, the link with natural and divine forces; in Hinduism, long hair is a sign of power and cosmic connection, and in Judaism, maintaining hair is a sign of deep commitment to God. For Alizadeh, each strand of hair 'tells a story of truth as it shifts with the passage of time – a mirror capturing moments and meanings. In my art, hair becomes a pathway through the endless journey of truth, stretching from the depths of the past to the present.’
The colour and tactility of the works also bear a deep emotional resonance. Alizadeh encourages people to touch his sculptures but even just standing in front of them, we can perceive and locate the soft fluidity of the hair in our personal memories, perhaps from childhood, of favourite toys, of brushing our mother’s hair, of family pets or blankets, or perhaps we might find more abstract feelings surfacing, relating to intimacy, comfort and rootedness. In a similar way, the colours that Alizadeh uses, alternating between warm, deep tones and bright fluorescent hues, work to conjure specific moods. Take, for instance, the sculpture which curves outwards into space creating an almost shell-like formation in which we can imagine taking refuge. The hairs in this work are primarily in shades of pink and red, colours that we associate with heat, love and affection. Towards the bottom of the work, where the hairs feather and fray, there is a contrasting band of sky blue, that cuts through the intensity to give us space to breathe.

Elsewhere, luscious waves of cobalt blue evoke the appearance of a waterfall while a curvaceous wall of green, orange, purple and blue recalls a flower bed in bloom. These are Alizadeh’s ‘gardens’: spaces that embrace and envelop the viewer, that calm and nourish the soul.
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- Hiva Alizadeh, Bare in the Garden #8, 2024

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Hiva Alizadeh: Bare in the Garden

Hiva Alizadeh

Hiva Alizadeh

Bare in the Garden

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