The Iranian visual artist Rahi Rezvani (1978) doesn’t exhibit often. It is therefore very special that Noorderlicht House of Photography presents a solo exhibition of him in the gallery.
Rezvani is a gifted storyteller who speaks in powerful images. He works without compromise, authenticity is far more important to him than popularity. In his photographic work, Rezvani is always looking for a chemical reaction between him and the shutter. A way to put soul into his images. Stemming from his background as a fine art painter, he says he uses the camera as a sort of airbrush. Craftsmanship is an explicit part of his work: lighting and technical expertise bring him to his magical compositions, printed on heavy, matte photography paper. “I don’t believe in photography without print”, Rezvani states.
Rezvani combines his talents as a filmmaker and photographer in long-term collaborations with artists, collectives and companies in the realms of music, theatre and fashion. In addition to his pioneering work for the Nederlands Dans Theater, for which Rezvani has been producing all the photographs, campaigns, films and books since 2006, Noorderlicht | House of Photography is mainly showing his work for the music industry. Just as Corbijn is inexplicably linked to U2, Rezvani is linked to the Editors. After photographing the British band at the Tivoli temple of pop in Utrecht in 2014, he was given free rein with regards to all their photography, video clips and artwork. Rezvani’s design for the Editors’ album Violence was nominated for the Art Vinyl Awards 2018 in the category ‘best album cover’. We are also showing Prehension. A Film, a short video for the Dutch composer and pianist Joep Beving. Plus, you can see shoots that Rezvani had with Wende, Anohni and Halina Reijn, among others.
BIO
Rahi Rezvani was born in Tehran and began his education as a painter and graphic designer at an early age. He gained his Bachelor’s degree in art at Tehran University of Art. In 1998, Rezvani was suddenly forced to flee to the Netherlands because of a photograph he had made as a press photographer. In 2008, he gained his Master’s degree in Photography at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, and since then he has been working as an independent artist in the worlds of music and theatre, but also for Atelier Versace and Gucci.
Rahi Rezvani
16 January – 10 March 2019
Noorderlicht | House of Photography
Akerkhof 12
9711 JB Groningen | NL
