Abbas Akbari
Artist
1971, Tehran, Iran
Abbas Akbari works in clay. Since the late 1990s he has made the revival of Persian lustreware his subject as much as his medium — reading the twelfth- and fourteenth-century treatises that first recorded its glazes, and returning the technique to the city where it was made: Kashan, where he lives, works and teaches.
He holds a Ph.D. in Research in Arts from the University of Tehran, has been a faculty member of the School of Architecture and Arts at the University of Kashan since 2001, and has been a member of the International Academy of Ceramics since 2015. He is director-in-charge of the journal Honar-haye Sana’ee-ye Iran, the author of six books and of fourteen collection catalogues.
His work has been shown in Iran, France, Turkey, Croatia, Argentina, Tunisia, the Dominican Republic, Pakistan, Nepal, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom, and is held in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Ashmolean in Oxford, the Fitzwilliam in Cambridge, the Pergamon in Berlin, the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris, the Arian Museum in Geneva and the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum in New York, as well as in private collections across seventeen countries.
Museum collections
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge Pergamon Museum, Berlin Musée du Quai Branly, Paris Arian Museum, Geneva Alfred Ceramic Art Museum, New York
Solo exhibitions
- 2026 Suluk Etemad Gallery, Tehran, Iran
- 2025 Manises Ceramics Museum Manises Ceramics Museum, Manises, Spain
- 2025 Dayereh-ye Mina Maryam Art Gallery, Kashan, Iran
- 2023 My Wayway Maryam Art Gallery, Kashan, Iran
- 2022 A Trip to Shabestar Maryam Art Gallery, Kashan, Iran
- 2021 No Painting Azad Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
- 2015 An Oriental Devotion Aun Gallery, Tehran, Iran
- 2015 Stonepaste Aun Gallery, Tehran, Iran
- 2014 The Iranian Ink, In Search of Concept Aun Gallery, Tehran, Iran
- 2013 Looking for Arash, In Pursuit of Peace Aun Gallery, Tehran, Iran
- 2013 The Vessel Aun Gallery, Tehran, Iran
- 2012 Jam-e Jam Aun Gallery, Tehran, Iran
- 2005 Cultural Hall, Nanterre University Nanterre University, Paris, France
The full record
Education and appointments
- 2011, Ph.D. in Research in Arts, School of Fine Arts, University of Tehran 2001, Faculty Member, School of Architecture and Arts, University of Kashan 2015, Member of the International Academy of Ceramics
Awards
- 2022, Cambridge Visual Culture (CVC) Fellowship 2016, Bronze Medal, Ceramic Multiplex, Croatia 2016, Kanbeh Foundation Scholarship, Japan 2014, Best Architectural Tile, Elit-Tile, Dominican Republic 2013, Grand Prize, V Biennale Internacional de Cerámica, Argentina 2013, Second Prize, Le Carreau d’Or, France 1995, Selected Sculptor, The 2nd Student Biennale of Iran
Jury and judgment
- 2018, Member of the jury, The 1st Symposium of Adobe Sculpture 2016, Member of the jury, The 5th Tehran Urban Sculpture Biennale 2009, Member of the jury, The 9th Biennale of Iranian Pottery and Ceramics 2006, Member of the jury, The 8th Biennale of Iranian Pottery and Ceramics
Research and writing
- Director-in-charge of Honar-haye Sana’ee-ye Iran (Iranian Handicrafts) journal Author of six books Fourteen collection catalogues published More than sixteen journal articles published
International events
- 2025, The 1st International Çanakkale Ceramic Festival, Çanakkale, Turkey 2024, The 3rd International Çömlek Festival, Menemen, Turkey 2021, Contemporary Ceramic Art from the Middle East, Victoria and Albert Museum, London 2019, Five Countries One Vision, Spain 2018, Five Countries One Vision, Italy 2018, Zagreb Clay Fest, Croatia 2018, Treasure Bowl Collection, International Academy of Ceramics, Switzerland 2017, Ceramic Workshop and Exhibition, Siddhartha Arts Foundation, Nepal 2017, The 4th International Mehmet Nuri Göçen Ceramic Workshop, Turkey 2016, Ceramic Multiplex, Croatia 2016, International Ceramic Mural, Let’s Meet — Wrocław, Poland 2015, The 6th International Art Days, Ege University, Turkey 2015, Pages d’Argile, France 2015, The 5th Ceramic Symposium, Tunisia 2014, Elit-Tile Triennial, Dominican Republic 2014, Macsabal Symposium, Ankara, Turkey 2014, Terracotta Symposium, Eskişehir, Turkey 2013, V Biennale Internacional de Cerámica, Argentina 2013, Le Carreau d’Or, France 2013, The 4th ASNA Clay Triennial, Karachi, Pakistan 2012, The 4th Festival of Postmodern Ceramics, Croatia 2012, Reflection, Geneva, Switzerland 2011, Terracotta Symposium, Eskişehir, Turkey 2010, Ceramic Symposium, İzmir, Turkey
Group exhibitions
- 2026, Action and Reaction, Maryam Art Gallery, Kashan 2018, The 6th Grand Festival of Art for Peace, Iran 2017, The 7th Tehran National Sculpture Biennale 2017, The 5th Grand Festival of Art for Peace, Iran 2015, The 3rd Grand Festival of Art for Peace, Iran 2014, With These Hands, Dar al Funoon Gallery, Kuwait 2013, Exhibition of Lustreware, From the Past to the Present, Iran 2011, The 10th Biennale of Iranian Pottery and Ceramics 2009, The 9th Biennale of Iranian Pottery and Ceramics 2008, The 1st Biennale of Urban Sculpture 2007, The 5th Biennale of Iranian Sculpture 2006, The 8th Biennale of Iranian Pottery and Ceramics 2005, The 4th Biennale of Iranian Sculpture 2005, Exhibition of Spiritual Art, Niavaran Cultural Centre 2002, The 3rd Biennale of Iranian Sculpture 1999, The 2nd Biennale of Iranian Sculpture 1998, The 6th Biennale of Iranian Pottery and Ceramics 1996, The 5th Biennale of Iranian Pottery and Ceramics 1995, The 1st Triennial of Iranian Sculpture 1995, The 2nd Student Biennale of Iran
Private collections and art centres
- Private collections and art centres in Iran, Argentina, England, Japan, Pakistan, Turkey, Croatia, Spain, Tunisia, France, Germany, the Dominican Republic, Nepal, the United States, Italy, Austria and Mexico.