Partners in Art is proud to support Abbas Akhavan: Entre le chien et loup at the Canadian Pavilion at the 61st International Venice Biennale.

Akhavan’s practice ranges across site-specific ephemeral installations to drawing, video, sculpture, and performance. The direction of his research has been deeply influenced by the specificity of the sites in which he works, including the architectures that house them, the economies that surround them, and the individuals that frequent them. The concept of the garden and by extension, the spaces and species just outside the home, such as the backyard, public parks and other domesticated landscapes, have been foundational components in his work. In recent large-scale installations, Akhavan recreates cultural sites affected by international conflicts, attending to the multivalent ways in which ongoing geopolitics fight for control of historical narratives.

About the artist:

Abbas Akhavan, a visionary artist whose work transcends traditional boundaries, has been captivating audiences worldwide with his thought-provoking installations and multidisciplinary approach. Born in Tehran in 1977, Akhavan has spent the past three decades in Canada and currently divides his time betweenMontreal and Berlin. His practice encompasses site-specific ephemeral installations, drawing, video, sculpture and performance.

Akhavan’s art reconstructs cultural sites impacted by global conflicts, examining the interplay of geopolitics, history and ecology. His installations explore spaces just beyond the domestic sphere – gardens, backyards and public parks – and the balance between public and private realms, the domesticated and the wild, and notions of hostility versus hospitality.