* The Time After
Hanie Soltani, June 20 – July 4, 2025
* Installation Views
* Individual Works
* Statement
Assar Art Gallery in Collaboration with Bavan Gallery Presents:
The Time After, a Solo Exhibition of Paintings by Hanie Soltani
30 May – 16 June 2025
Bavan Gallery, Tehran
This upcoming show is the tenth in a series of exhibitions hosted by Assar Art Gallery in close collaboration with other galleries as it relocates to a new space.
The Time After marks Hanie Soltani’s first solo exhibition and features ten figurative paintings made over the past three years. Hanie places human figures—based on real people but subtly reshaped by feeling and formal decisions—into carefully staged, familiar settings. Using bold colors and recurring symbols, her scenes feel both intimate and thoughtfully constructed.
These multi-figure compositions explore human connection—sometimes close and connected, other times distant despite their physical proximity. This emotional contrast reflects a shift that emerged during the COVID era, when the need for connection deepened after collective experiences of grief and isolation. Bringing people into the same frame becomes a way of resisting emotional withdrawal.
Hanie’s approach to painting reflects the same emotional responsiveness that shapes her subject matter. Her process is both intuitive and deliberate—a two-way exchange between artist and image where time plays a central role. Some works begin with a single element and gradually evolve as she adds figures and other details in response to the painting. At other times, her compositions are carefully pre-planned, with a clear vision of the final scene.
The Time After, a Solo Exhibition of Paintings by Hanie Soltani
30 May – 16 June 2025
Bavan Gallery, Tehran
This upcoming show is the tenth in a series of exhibitions hosted by Assar Art Gallery in close collaboration with other galleries as it relocates to a new space.
The Time After marks Hanie Soltani’s first solo exhibition and features ten figurative paintings made over the past three years. Hanie places human figures—based on real people but subtly reshaped by feeling and formal decisions—into carefully staged, familiar settings. Using bold colors and recurring symbols, her scenes feel both intimate and thoughtfully constructed.
These multi-figure compositions explore human connection—sometimes close and connected, other times distant despite their physical proximity. This emotional contrast reflects a shift that emerged during the COVID era, when the need for connection deepened after collective experiences of grief and isolation. Bringing people into the same frame becomes a way of resisting emotional withdrawal.
Hanie’s approach to painting reflects the same emotional responsiveness that shapes her subject matter. Her process is both intuitive and deliberate—a two-way exchange between artist and image where time plays a central role. Some works begin with a single element and gradually evolve as she adds figures and other details in response to the painting. At other times, her compositions are carefully pre-planned, with a clear vision of the final scene.
In these more deliberate works, Hanie imagines and builds the space first—choosing objects, poses, and arrangements. She often draws from the visual language of Renaissance and Baroque painting, using their compositional frameworks as invisible scaffolds. The influence of works by artists like Titian can be felt beneath the surface, particularly in pieces such as Lit Candles, inspired by Diana and Actaeon, and Gathering, referencing The Bacchanal of the Andrians.
While her compositions reflect classical influences, her use of form, texture, and color brings a modern sensibility. Influenced by the flatness of pre-Renaissance art, she layers oil paint to create dense surfaces that reveal traces of the painting process. The thick crusty texture and darkened palette in this series contribute to a deeper, more contemplative mood.
Hanie Soltani (b. 1992, Tehran) is a painter living and working in Tehran. Holding a master’s degree in painting, she has been devoted to a daily practice of painting and drawing since 2014. Her work has previously been shown in numerous group exhibitions both in Iran and internationally. The Time After marks her first solo exhibition.
* Past Exhibitions
IT´S NOT PAINTERLY, TO LET THE SUN DROWN IN THE SEA
Neda SaeediMay 9-26, 2025
Ahoo Hamedi
April 18 - May 5, 2025
April 18 - May 5, 2025
Group Exhibition
April 19 - 30, 2025
April 19 - 30, 2025