Sara Abbaspour (born in Mashhad, Iran) is an Iranian Artist who lives and works between the U.S. and Iran. She holds an MFA in Photography from Yale School of Art, an MA in Photography from University of Tehran, and a B.Sc. in Urban Planning and Design from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Sara is primarily interested in making visual poetry using portraiture and landscape. She has photographically reflected on the urban public sphere vs. private realms and interiors vs. exteriors as mental spaces. Exploring the notion of psychogeography, her works exist in between the imagined and the experienced in the current socio-political climate.
Sara.abbaspour @ aya.yale.edu
Sara.abbaspour.art @ gmail.com
Sara Abbaspour (CV)
Currently based in Los Angeles
Education
2019 MFA Photography, Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT
2016 MA in Photography, Department of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Iran
2013 B.Sc. in Urban Planning Department of Architecture and Urban Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran
Selected Exhibitions
2023 - Shesh شش - Six Contemporary Iranian Artists, Studio200 Gallery, New York, NY (link)
- Of Fervorous Bodies, Harry Wood Gallery, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (link)
2022 - Faculty Exhibition, California State Summer School of the Arts, CalArts, Valencia, CA
2021 - Overlap, Erstererster Gallery, Berlin, Germany (link)
- 25 Photographs, Pioneer Work, New York, NY (link)
- Architecture of Elsewhere, Gallery Perchée, Curated by Bianca Abdi-Boragi, Online Exhibition
2020 - Emerging Photographers, IGAVEL auctions, New York, NY
2019 - Delirious Cities, Aperture Foundation, New York, NY (link)
- Transcript, Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York, NY (link)
- Yale MFA Photography 19’, Yale School of Art MFA Photography Thesis Show, Green Hall Gallery, New Haven, CT (link)
2018 - Words Cannot Express, Yale School of Art Second Year Exhibition, Green Hall Gallery, New Haven, CT
- Labyrinths (Virtual Reality Exhibition), IEEE GEM Conference, Galway, Ireland (link)
2017 - Yale School of Art First Year MFA Exhibition, Green Hall Gallery, Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT
- White (solo exhibition), Radin Gallery, Mashhad, Iran (link)
2016 - Urban Photography; Psychogeography (solo exhibition) graduate photographic Thesis Exhibition, Tehran Gallery, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Teaching Experience
2023 - Assistant Professor of Photography, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
2022 - Visiting Faculty, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
- Juror for the Allan Sekula Social Documentary Fund, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
2021-22 - Technical Faculty and Associate Director of the Photography Lab, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
- Juror in Artwork open call for the show titled Framework, Gallery South, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA
2020-21 - Adjunct Professor in Photography, Steinhardt Department of Art and Art Professions, New York University, NY
- Guest Critic, Drew University, Madison, NJ
- Guest Critic, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ
2017-19 - Yale University, Teaching assistant:
B&W Photography Capturing Light,
Introduction to Documentary Filmmaking, with Sandra Luckow
Digital Photography, with Theodore Partin
Persian Language, with Farkhondeh Shayesteh
2016 - Guest Lecturer, Photography and City Workshop, Department of Architecture and Urbanism, Ferdowsi
University of Mashhad, Iran
- Guest lecturer on the Role of Photography in the Formation of Urban Subjectivity, Department of Architecture and
Urbanism, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran
Artist Talks
2023 - University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
2022 - California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
2021 - Yale School of Art’s Alumni Panel, New Haven, CT
- Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
- The City College of New York, NY
- California State University, Long Beach, CA
2020 - Drew University, Madison, NJ
2019 - Yale University, New Haven, CT
Press and Publication
2023 - Cadre Gallery Magazine, Interviewed by Hasti Zahiri (link)
- Cruzada’s Intuition, Harry Gamboa Jr., self published, ISBN9798371019790 (contributed as a performer)
2021 - Ain'tBad Magazine, April 7, 2021 by Sydney Gillum
2020 - Lumpen Magazine, Issue #137
- 60 WRD/MIN Art Critic Review, February 2020
2019 - Delirious Cities by curator Brendan Embser, Aperture Blog Feature, July 2019
- Transcript, Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT
2018 - MATTE Magazine, Best Students 2018 Anthology, Issue #49