Artistic Approach

My practice blends intuitive creation with research into cultural histories, where the alchemy of clay mirrors my own transformation. As I work with the material, I find parallels between its metamorphosis and the shifts in identity and meaning that shape my personal and creative life. By remaking archaeological artifacts, which I view as vessels of memory and change, I explore the connections between history and the present, the personal and collective, the known and unknown. In this alchemical process, new insights often surface—whether during creation or through installation, revealing layers of the unconscious.

A significant part of my practice is driven by my passion for artifacts, history, and archaeology, through which I confront the contrasts between Persian heritage and its distortion within a Western-centric framework. Navigating between Persian cosmology and a global narrative that often erases non-Western histories has led me to create an imaginary space that bridges these distinct worlds. In this hybrid reality, I explore the tensions of identity, seeking to ground where different cosmologies intersect and shape both my personal and artistic journey.



Bio

Reihan Ebrahimi is an Iranian-born ceramic artist, currently dividing her time between Tiohtiá/Montreal and Tehran. After moving to Canada in 2015, she earned her BFA in ceramics from Concordia University in 2020. Her practice is deeply informed by the intersection of personal and collective narratives, blending intuitive creation with research into cultural histories.

Reihan’s work has been showcased in Montreal and Tehran, and she has received several grants, including from the Canada Council for the Arts and Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. In 2022, she was awarded the NCECA Helene Zucker Seeman Curatorial Fellowship. Recently, she was an artist in residence at the European Ceramic Work Center (EKWC) in the Netherlands during the Winter of 2024.

CV

Education

  • 2017-20 BFA, Ceramics | Concordia University | Montreal, Canada
  • 2018 Exchange Program | Kansai Gaidai University | Hirakata, Japan
  • 2016 Certificat en arts visuel | Université de UQAM | Montreal, Canada
  • 2008 Master of Innovative Hospitality Management | Turismo Saint Ignasi Barcelona/ Hotel Management School Zuyd University- Maastricht
  • 2004 Bachelor of French Translation, Allameh Tabatabai University Tehran, Iran
 
Exhibitions
 
  • Nov 2023 À suivre, Group Exhibition, MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels), Montreal, Canada
  • May 2023 Collaborative Exhibition, Life of Uterus | Maison de la culture du Plateau- Mont Royal, Montreal, Canada
  • May 2023 Group Exhibition, Togetherness, Home-making symposium, 4th space, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
  • Nov 2022 Solo -Exhibition, Loop in Loop | Verdun Cultural Center, Montreal, Canada
  • Oct 2022 Duo- Exhibition, Wordless |Centre d’exposition Lethbridge, Saint-Laurent, Canada
  • Dec 2022 Group Exhibition, Togetherness, Centre Culturel Georges Vanier, Montreal, Canada
  • 2021 Group Exhibition, Beasties and Marvels |Le Vieux Forgeron Art Gallery Stanstead, Canada
  • 2021 Group Exhibition, Imagined Topographies | FOFA Gallery Montreal, Canada
  • 2020 Art Volt Soft Launch Cohort | Montreal, Canada
 

Curated Projects

  • 2019 Curator and artist | Togetherness, Montreal, Canada
  • 2019  Co-Curator and co-director | Nowruz Projects | Collective Multicultural curatorial online events focused on the rite of Nowruz in Western Asia Montreal, Canada
 

Related Experience

  • 2022 Main Organizer of Pots Uniques winter pottery sale I Centre Culturel George Vanier , Montreal, Canada
  • 2022 Guest lecturer at Concordia University I Persian Luster Ceramics, Montreal, Canada
  • 2020 Founder | Atelier Guerd | Designing and making ceramic objects, Montreal, Canada
  • 2020 Instructing pottery hand-building workshop | YES Montreal | Virtual experience, Montreal, Canada
  • 2019 Summer Art history Internship | Montreal Museum of Fine Arts | Assistance in reconceptualization of museum’s Persian art collection_Research essay about transcultural exchange; hybridity and mobility_A case study of Persian and Chinese ceramic ewers | Montreal, Canada
  • 2018 Curatorial Internship | Art Souterrain |Member of curatorial team: Seeking and selecting artists for 2019 Edition of Art Souterrain, Festival Vrai ou Faux | Montreal, Canada
  • 2015 Summer internship | Pascale Girardin Ceramic Studio | Assistance in producing handmade dish-ware for restaurants | Montreal, Canada

Grants & Awards

  • 2019- 2020 CCSL Special Projects, Concordia
  • 2021 Alliance Grant I Montréal, arts intercultural
  • 2021 Canada Council for the Arts for Wordless project
  • 2021 Sodec Quebec for Bird project
  • 2022 Sodec Quebec for Vessel project
  • 2022 NCECA Helene Zucker Seeman Curatorial, Research, and Critical Writing Fellowship for Women
  • 2023 Canada Council for the Arts for Life of Uterus 
  • 2023 Canada Council for the Arts for Wine Birds

Residencies

  • Dec 2023-Mar 2024 European Ceramic Work Center (EKWC), The Netherlands