Raha Rastifard | Lost Memory
We are pleased to present Raha Rastifard’s second solo exhibition at the gallery, titled Lost Memory. The opening reception is on Wednesday May 14, 17.00—20.00.
Raha Rastifard is a conceptual artist who frequently explores themes of identity and cultural heritage. Her work often incorporates references to literature, philosophy, and art history. This new body of work reflects her ongoing exploration of cultural heritage, drawing from personal experience while addressing broader questions of cultural continuity, displacement, and loss. At the core of Rastifard’s practice is an interest in how cultural heritage shapes our understanding of ourselves, others, and the world around us.
Her latest works draw inspiration from the architectural and ornamental traditions of Persian culture. Geometric structures, abstracted forms, and references to monumental architecture function not only as aesthetic elements, but as carriers of memory—reimagined, reinterpreted, and sometimes lost through time.
Like memory itself, Rastifard's works are fragmentary, layered and pieced together from various sources—both real and imagined. At first glance, they may bring to mind archaeological artefacts, museum objects, or miniature landmarks. Yet the sculptures are neither historical remnants nor replicas. By navigating this visual terrain, Rastifard opens up questions about authenticity and value, while also pointing towards the forces that shape and reshape cultural memory.
Raha Rastifard (b. 1974, Tehran) holds a BFA from the National University of Art in Tehran and an MA in European and Islamic Art from Freie Universität in Berlin. Recent solo and group exhibitions include Ebelingmuseet, Eskilstuna (2023), Borås Bright Art, Borås Konstmuseum (2023), Liljevalchs konsthall, Stockholm (2022), Berg Gallery, Stockholm (2021), and Östergötlands museum, Linköping (2019). Additionally, her work has been shown at international institutions such as the Pergamon Museum, Berlin, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Kunstquartier Bethanien, Berlin, Museo Ex-Teresa Arte Actual, Mexico City, Malmö Konsthall, and Tokyo Gallery + BTAP, Tokyo. Rastifard is represented in the collections of Pergamon Museum, Borås Konstmuseum, Östergötlands museum, Region Stockholm, and Stockholm Konst, to name a few.
