Taher Asad Bakhtiari (Iranian, b. 1982)  Tribal Weave Project offers a contemporary distillation of the kilim flatweaves and densely-knotted gabbeh rugs that have long defined Iran’s cultural traditions. Asad-Bakhtiari’s tapestries are often built around large-scale triangular patterning and crossed by striated bars and lines—minimalist forms which interrupt the logic of warp and weft with jagged diagonals and vivid abstractions. They recall shimmering landforms, lines of motion, and the iconography of nomadic handicrafts, while also nodding to the simple geometries of mid-century avant-garde design and craft movement like those at Black Mountain College. Woven from hand-spun and naturally-dyed wool with the occasional inclusion of contemporary materials, these lace-like works seek to spur new creative wrinkles within a craft tradition dating back centuries.

While Asad-Bakhtiari’s textiles honor his namesake heritage in the nomadic Bakhtiari Lur tribe and are realized in concert with today’s artisan weavers, he is especially noted for his innovations in fiber techniques and weaving methods. Many of his tapestries seem to breathe of their own accord, composed of airy weaves with almost translucent sections of exposed warps. Rippling and glimmering as light and air pass through their open network of threads, they uncover patterns within the fundamental crossbeams of the weaving process, making use of the empty space between the overlay of threads. Combining exposed warps, lace weaves, flatweaves, and dense pile carpet techniques, Asad-Bakhtiari composes tapestries that are at once formally straightforward, yet elegantly layered, graphic, and evocative.

Asad-Bakhtiari is a self-taught artist whose practice revolves around three-dimensional objects, textiles, and experiences. His work is known for raising questions around utility within the trajectories of traditional artisan handcrafts. In addition to his Tribal Weaves, his resin-glazed series of Reclaimed Barrels transforms the ubiquitous aluminum oil barrel found around Tehran’s construction sites into functional works of art. Asad-Bakhtiari studied in Canada and Switzerland and resides between Tehran, Dubai, and New York.

TAHER ASAD-BAKHTIARI, Tribal Weave, 2024, Gabbeh woven wool with exposed warp 118" L x 98.5” W

TAHER ASAD-BAKHTIARI, Tribal Weave, 2024, Gabbeh woven wool with exposed warp 94.5" L x 66.25 “ W

TAHER ASAD-BAKHTIARI, Tribal Weave, 2024, Gabbeh woven wool with exposed warp 86.5" L x 59” W