Taher Asad-Bakhtiari (b. 1982, Tehran, Iran) offers a striking, contemporary take on hand-woven textiles and furnishings, mapping out a bold style of open-work tapestries which retool the kilim flatweaves and densely-knotted gabbeh rugs that have long defined his region’s cultural traditions. Asad-Bakhtiari’s fabric constructions are built around large-scale triangular patterning and crossed by striated bars and lines—minimalist forms which override the logic of warp and weft and recall landforms and the iconography of ancient civilizations, while nodding to the repeated 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 heritage in the nomadic Bakhtiari tribe’s crafts and are realized in concert with today’s artisans weavers, he is especially noted for his innovations in techniques and weaving methods. Many of his fabrics seem to breathe on their own accord, composed of airy weaves with almost translucent sections of exposed warps. Rippling and shimmering as light and air pass through their open network of threads, they uncover patterns within the fundamental crossbeams of the weaving process: the empty space between the overlay of threads.
Asad-Bakhtiari's resin-glazed oil barrel stools allow for a metamorphosis of form and context. A ubiquitous sight around Tehran at construction projects, over time the aluminum oil barrels acquire the scars, rust, and patina of endless use. The artist polishes them to underscore their humble beauty, compressing them and applying accents of gold before encasing them in lustrous resin.
Asad-Bakhtiari is a self-taught artist whose practice revolves around objects, textiles, and experiences. He studied in Canada and Switzerland and resides between Dubai and New York.
TAHER ASAD-BAKHTIARI
b. 1982, Tehran, Iran
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025
Tribal Weave Project, Hostler Burrows, Los Angeles, CA
2016
The Pond House, Carwan Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon
2014
Reinvention: Dastan, Outside the Basement, Tehran, Iran
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021
Carwan Gallery – 10 Year Anniversary, Caravan Gallery, Athens, Greece
2020
Side Gallery, Casavells, Spain
2019
TEFAF New York, Hostler Burrows, New York, NY
Nomad St. Moritz, Carwan Gallery, St. Moritz, Switzerland
2018
Nomad St. Moritz, Carwan Gallery, Samedan, Switzerland
Design Miami/ Basel, Hostler Burrows, Basel, Switzerland
2017
Beirut Design Fair, Carwan Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon
Nomad Monaco – Villa La Vigie, Carwan Gallery, Monaco
2016
One of a Kind: First Year Anniversary, Architectural Digest, Dubai, UAE
Design Days Dubai, WASL, Dubai, UAE
2015
Warehouse 421, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Design Days, Dubai, UAE
2014
Villa Paradiso, Carwan Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon
Design Days Dubai, Dubai, UAE
2013
L’Ebeniste, Carwan Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon
The Mosaic Rooms, London Design Festival, A.M. Qattan Foundation, London, UK
Alaan Artspace, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Miart: The International Fair of Modern and Contemporary Art, Milan, Italy
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
2025
Carey, Brainard. “Taher Asad-Bakhtiari,” Yale University Radio, February 10, 2025.
Fincato, Olivia. “Nel Caos Calmo di Questa Casa a New York che Sembra Uscita da un Film di Woody Allen,” Architectural Digest Italia, February 17, 2025.
Waddoups, Ryan. “Where to See Great Design in Los Angeles during Frieze Week,” Galerie Magazine, February 19, 2025.
2024
“Patrick McGrath Remixed this West Village Townhouse for a Creative Couple,” House Beautiful, April 8, 2024.
2022
Beaney, Laura Cherrie. “In the Studio: Taher Asad-Bakhtiari,” Lux Habitat, November 24, 2022.
Clark, Roddy. “Black-and-White Magic: Monochrome Home Furnishings,” Financial Times, July 16, 2022.
Randone, Amanda. “Celebrating His Ancestral Heritage, Iranian Artist Taher Asad-Bakhtiari Threads His DNA into a Multitude of Experimental Designs,” Vogue Living Arabia, Spring/Summer issue, June 15, 2022.
2021
Choudhry, Talib. “Artist Taher Asad-Bakhtiari’s Dubai Home Celebrates His Nomadic Spirit,” Architectural Digest Middle East, May (Cover).
Hemonet, Marina. “10 Tapis Graphiques pour Réveiller Son Salon,” Architectural Digest France, February 15, 2021.
“Archer Collection by CC-Tapis,” Cover Magazine, January 25, 2021.
“The Archer Collection,” The Luxury Chronicle, September 9, 2021.
2020
Studach, Mel. “27 Go-To Drinks Tables Sourced by AD100 Designers,” Architectural Digest Pro, June 23, 2020.
2018
Kwun, Aileen. “Textile Message,” Surface, July/August, Issue 148, pp. 78–79.
Martin, Hannah. “New Creatives: Taher Asad-Bakhtiari,” Architectural Digest, September 18, 2018, p. 104.
Williamson, Caroline. “Architectural Digest Names New Creatives Shaking up the Design World,” Design Milk, September 18, 2018.
Yang, Vy. “Taher Asad-Bakhtiari Weaves Modern Textiles Using Tribal Iranian Techniques,” Design Milk, August 8, 2018.
“Taher Asad-Bakhtiari Textiles Collection,” The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design.
“Tribal Weave,” Selvedge Magazine, October 9, 2018.
2017
Habib, Rania. “A Tribal Heart,” Architectural Digest Middle East, pp. 78–81.
2016
Akel, Joseph. “Getting Knotty,” Four Two Nine, Issue 07, pp. 162–163.
Butterfield, Charlotte. “AD Tastemakers: Prince of Persia,” Architectural Digest Middle East, Spring, pp. 55–61, 75.
Pereira, Lorenzo. “Interview with Taher Asad-Bakhtiari: Bridging the Gap between Traditional and Contemporary Art,” Widewalls, February 14, 2016.
“AD + Vestiaire Collective: Le Meilleur de la Décoration,” Architectural Digest France, October 14, p. 22.
“All for One,” Architectural Digest Middle East, March / April, p. 111.
“Boy Wonder,” Harper’s Bazaar Interiors, Spring, May 25, 2016: pp. 64–69.
“Pond Memories,” Cover: Carpets and Textiles for Modern Interiors, Autumn, pp. 100–103.
“Radar Trends: Modern Bedouin,” Architectural Digest Middle East, p. 49.
“Tisser la Laine et L’Eau,” L’Officiel Hommes, June, Numéro 66, pp. 212–214.
