Weekly conversations ...with Soli Kiani
Studio artist Soli Kiani has an exhibition on show at STRABAG Kunstforum from November 15, 2019 until December 12, 2019 titled Mahroum / Ausgeschlossen. She gave us a little insight into the exhibition and her thoughts about art in general.
Can you talk a little bit about your plans for the exhibition at STRABAG Kunstforum?
My exhibition at STRABAG Kunstforum is called Mahroum / Ausgeschlossen (Excluded). The title of the show refers to my site-specific collage which deals with the theme of censorship in literature and society in Iran. I am going to show a selection of photographs, paintings, a collage and an installation. My goal as an artist is to bring the social, cultural and religious differences to the forefront and make people discuss them!
Are there any works, movements or artists in the art scene (maybe in Vienna) that fascinate you at the moment?
One of my favorite artists is the Mexican artist Teresa Margolles, who works with the topic of death. What I really like about her works, is how she puts social problems onto the stage and makes them a topic for many people.
I don’t know if there is a movement in Austria which fascinates me, but there is definitely a development towards female artists now! They are more often shown in galleries and at fairs, such as Renate Bertlmann at Venice Biennale 2019, Valie Export at Thaddaeus Ropac or galleries like Sophie Tappeiner gallery who has been putting the main emphasis on female artists since the opening.
Is there something that particularly fuels your inspiration right now?
My source of inspiration is of course auto-biographical, the human rights situation in countries such as Iran. Therefore people like Shirin Ebadi or Masih Alinejad an Iranian journalist, who lives in exile in New York inspire me. But I aim at a bigger picture, improving the human rights situation everywhere. Iran is just unfortunately a “good” example.