Bita Ghezelayagh

Bita Ghezelayagh (born 1966, Florence, Italy) is an Iranian contemporary artist who lives and works in Tehran and London.[1] Best known for her sculptural, textile-based and felting works that reclaim traditional Iranian crafting techniques, reinterpreting and transforming them into modern art.[2][3] Her work has been exhibited internationally and is held in several collections, including the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum.[4][5] She was shortlisted for the Jameel Prize in 2011.[6]

Biography

Bita Ghezelayagh was born in Florence, Italy, in 1966. She returned to Iran with her family in 1968 and was brought up in Tehran. Ghezelayagh studied architecture at the École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Paris-La Villette. She returned to Iran in 1994, where she worked on a building restoration project for the Iranian Calligraphers Association. She was also art director for three Iranian films, including Dariush Mehrjui's The Pear Tree.[7][8]

In 2003, she began studying the traditional craft of felt-making and had her first solo exhibition in Tehran five years later.[9] This was followed by other solo exhibitions, including a touring exhibition in the United Kingdom. Ghezelayagh has participated in group shows at the Sharjah Art Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Casa Árabe in Madrid, the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts and the San Antonio Museum of Art.[10]

Her work is included in the collections of the British Museum in London, the Farjam Foundation in Dubai and the Devi Art Foundation in New Delhi.[10]

She is married to British author and journalist Christopher de Bellaigue.[11]

Artistic Practice

Ghezelayagh's practice focuses on textile-based media, particularly felt, drawing on traditional Iranian felting techniques. Her Felt Memories series (2008-2009) reinterprets the tradition of wearing talismans for protection.[12] The series marked the first international solo exhibition of her work held at the Rose Issa Projects.[13] According to the British Museum, he works replace the luxurious materials of historical talismanic often inscribed with prayers – with felt, incorporating modern symbols and texts.[14] Reviewing her 2018 at the Leighton House Museum, Prospect noted that her work draws on Iran's textile traditions. Her use of reclaiming fragments of Persian carpets and traditional rural garments, such as felted shepherds' coats, places her art within a wider movement to preserve and reinterpret Iran's material culture.[15]

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2020: Rethreading & Retracing: Textiles and Techniques by Bita Ghezelayagh, The Aga Khan Foundation, London[16]

2018: Leighton House Museum, London[17]

2017: Asia House, London[18]

2013: The Letter that Never Arrived, Rose Issa Projects, London[19]

2011: Albareh Gallery, Bahrain[20]

2009-10: Namad: A Persian Journey in Felt, touring show: Collins Gallery, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Quilters' Guild Collection, York, and Hawick Museum[21][22][23]

2009: Felt Memories, Rose Issa Projects, London[24]

2009: Silk and Felt, Golestan Gallery, Tehran

2007: Namad, Artists’ House (Khaneh Honarmandan), Tehran

Selected Group Exhibitionss

2023: The Resistance of Pen and Paper, Richard Saltoun Gallery, London

2023; The Future of Tradition, Brunei Gallery, SOAS, London

2021: Epic Iran, Victoria and Albert Museum, London[25]

2020: Zuleika Gallery, London

2017: Lajevardi Foundation, Tehran

2016: Shirin Gallery, Tehran

2014: Islamic Festival, Sharjah Museum of Contemporary Art (Sharjeh Art Museum), UAE

2014: Rose Issa Projects, London

2013: Caught in the Crossfire, Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry

2011-13: Jameel Prize travelling exhibition of shortlisted artists -- Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; Casa Arabe, Madrid; Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University; San Antonio Museum of Art

2011: Zendegi: Twelve Contemporary Iranian Artists, Beirut Exhibition Centre

2010-11: Miragens, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Brasilia

2010: Four Contemporary Iranian Artists, Art Dubai, Al Bastskiya Dubai

1996: Exhibition of Iranian Female Artists, Niavaran Cultural Centre, Tehran

1995: Exhibition of Iranian Female Artists, Niavaran Cultural Centre, Tehran

Collections

The Jameel Foundation, Saudi Arabia

British Museum, London

Victoria & Albert Museum, London

National Museum of Scotland, Scotland

Royal Ontario Museum, Canada

Farjam Foundation, Dubai

Devi Art Foundation, Delhi

Lajevardi Foundation, Iran

References

  1. ↑ Eigner, Saeb (2010). Art of the Middle East. ISBN 978-1-8589-4500-2.
  2. ↑ "Rethreading and Retracing: Textiles & Techniques by Bita Ghezelayagh". Islamic Arts Magazine. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  3. ↑ "cloak | British Museum". The British Museum. Archived from the original on 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  4. ↑ "Bita Ghezelayagh". The British Museum. 9 April 2026. Retrieved 9 April 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ↑ "Mask". V&A. 15 April 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ↑ "Jameel Prize 2011 · V&A". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  7. ↑ "Bita Ghezelayagh Set Decorator". IMDb. 2026-04-09. Retrieved 2026-04-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ↑ "Bita Ghezelayagh - Biography". Richard Saltoun. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  9. ↑ Sayyah, Syma (6 August 2008). "A Unique Exhibition in Tehran by Artist Bita Ghezelayagh". Payvand. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  10. 1 2 "Bita Ghezelayagh". Rose Issa Projects. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "Christopher de Bellaigue". Penguin Books. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "cloak | British Museum". The British Museum. Archived from the original on 2021-06-25. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  13. ↑ "2009 - BITA GHEZELAYAGH: FELT MEMORIES". Rose Issa Projects. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  14. ↑ "cloak | British Museum". The British Museum. Archived from the original on 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  15. ↑ Rahim, Sameer. "From Iran, with love—an artist preserves a dying tradition". www.prospectmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  16. ↑ "Rethreading & Retracing". Aga Khan Centre. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  17. ↑ Rahim, Sameer. "From Iran, with love—an artist preserves a dying tradition". www.prospectmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  18. ↑ "Profile – Bita Ghezelayagh". IRANIAN AMERICAN WOMEN FOUNDATION. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  19. ↑ "'The Letter That Never Arrived' by Iranian Artist Bita Ghezelayagh". Islamic Arts Magazine. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  20. ↑ "Home". Albareh Art Gallery. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  21. ↑ "Bita Ghezelayagh's Namad in Scotland: A Persian Journey in Felt". Kodoom.com. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  22. ↑ "Namad: A Persian Journey in Felt by Bita Ghezelayagh | Archives | Exhibitions and Events". www.quiltmuseum.org.uk. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  23. ↑ "Profile – Bita Ghezelayagh". IRANIAN AMERICAN WOMEN FOUNDATION. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  24. ↑ "RI Projects | News". Rose Issa Projects. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  25. ↑ "Epic Iran - Exhibition at V&A South Kensington · V&A". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
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