Maryam Najd
°1965, Tehran, Iran.
Lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium.
The artistic language of Maryam Najd, educated in Tehran and Antwerp, is deeply rooted in the tradition of Persian miniature painting. Her practice is distinguished by an exceptional attention to form, detail, and surface. Rather than treating figuration and abstraction as simple stylistic oppositions, Najd employs them as conceptual strategies that probe the tension between the visible body and the absent subject, as well as between the ornamental and the political.
Building on this visual and conceptual foundation, her work addresses the socio-political complexities of race, gender, and cultural identity. In doing so, it moves beyond conventional artistic boundaries and seeks to reconfigure the discourse on representation and authority. At the core of this inquiry lies a sustained engagement with the “politics of visibility”—a concern that animates both her formal decisions and her thematic explorations.
This critical lens allows Najd to examine how structures of power shape the dynamics of visibility, recognition, censorship, and erasure. Symbols such as veils, masks, and cultural emblems recur throughout her oeuvre, serving as devices through which she interrogates the shifting interplay of concealment and revelation.
Her recent series further sharpen this focus. In “Nation-Wide Protest” (2023) and “Seven Shades of Blood” (2023–2024), vacant faces emerge as haunting markers of both elimination and resistance, while hair and hairstyles are transformed into emblems of revolt and identity. Similarly, “Colour-Blind Society” (2022–2024) mobilizes chromatic codes and collective symbols to confront the enduring presence of neo-colonial ideologies.
Through these projects, Najd has gained international recognition for her artistic contributions, with exhibitions at institutions such as the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (Beijing), the Museum of Contemporary Art, M HKA (Antwerp), Mu.ZEE (Ostend), the Groeningemuseum (Bruges), and KMSKA (Antwerp). Her works now form part of significant public and private collections across Europe, the United States, and Asia. She is currently pursuing a doctorate at the PXL-MAD School of Arts and the University of Hasselt, where her research continues to expand the dialogue between art, politics, censorship, and visibility.
Selected exhibitions:
Solo exhibitions
2024, Seven Shades of Blood, Colour-Blind Society project, Micki Chomicki Gallery, Antwerp (BE)
2019, Botanic – National Amalgamation Project, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Beijing (CN)
2018, The Aesthetics of Sin, re(D). Gallery, Antwerp (BE)
2016, Eight Volumes of Fantasy, Groeningemuseum, Bruges (BE)
2016, Wanderlust, Gallery Van De Weghe, Antwerp (BE)
2015, Non-Existence Flag Project, Panache Towers, Antwerp (BE)
2014, Accuracy & Balance / West, Galerie Van De Weghe, Antwerp (BE)
2012, Non-Existence Flag Project, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin (DE)
2010, Masquerade, Tatjana Pieters Galerie, Ghent (BE)
2007, Get Girl, Kill Baddies, Save Plant, Crown Gallery, Brussels (BE)
2006, Phantasmagoria, Tim Van Laere Gallery, Antwerp (BE)
2004, Nirvana, Tim Van Laere Gallery, Antwerp (BE)
2002, Night & Day, Van Laere Contemporary Art, Antwerp (BE)
2000, Inordinate Desire, Van Laere Contemporary Art, Antwerp (BE)
1999, Garden, Van Laere Contemporary Art, Antwerp (BE)
Group exhibitions
2025, Ontomateria, Verduyn Gallery, Moregem (BE)
2025, Er was eens, Expo ruimte De Halle – CC De Werft, Geel (BE)
2025, This Is Not a Flag, From the Non-Existence Flag Project, UZ Kunstmuur, Brussels (BE)
2024, Passio / IL Camino 2024, 5th edition Biënnale of Kortrijk, Sint-Maartenskerk, Kortrijk (BE)
2024, Don't Go to Strangers, CURRENT Artspace, Antwerp (BE)
2023, Zan, Zendeghi, Azadi (Women, Life, Freedom), Pedrami Gallery, Antwerp (BE)
2023, The Clown-spirit, Galleria Mucciaccia, Rome (IT)
2023, Dromen – Denken – Doen, De Mijlpaal Gallery, Heusden-Zolder (BE)
2022, Hot Spot #1 Painting, Valerie Traan Gallery, Antwerp (BE)
2022, Silent Rush, Stormloop Kunstenfestival, Herentals (BE)
2022, The Circus We Are, Musée Félicien Rops & Musée des Arts Anciens, Namur (BE)
2021, Noir Désir – Verlangen naar zwart, De Mijlpaal Gallery, Zeedijk, Knokke Zoute (BE)
2021, Spuitwater, Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp (BE)
2020, Monoculture – A Recent History, M HKA – Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp (BE)
2020, The Clown Spirit, De Rossaert Gallery & Ronny Van de Velde Gallery, Knokke (BE)
2020, Nu noch De rest, Emergent Gallery, Veurne (BE)
2019, Kontrapunt #2, Platform Bernaerts, Antwerp (BE)
2019, 8th Beijing International Art Biennale 2019, The National Museum of China, Beijing (CN)
2019, The Human Condition II, Kusseneers Gallery, Brussels (BE)
2019, Lost in Translation, De Warande, Turnhout (BE)
2018, Intersection – International Art & Culture, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Beijing (CN)
2018, Middle Gate II – The Story of Dymphna, M HKA & CC De Werft, Geel (BE)
2017, Lost Ideas, Cultuurcentrum De Steiger, Menen (BE)
2017, 7th Beijing International Art Biennale, National Museum of China, Beijing (CN)
2017, Celibataire Divas, Refugiehuis van de Abdij van Herkenrode, Hasselt (BE)
2017, Transit – Parcours Humain, Atelier Mondial, Basel (CH)
2015, Uitverkoren, Koningin Fabiolazaal, Antwerp (BE)
2015, De Stad als Performance, Triennale Brugge, Bogardenkapel, Bruges (BE)
2015, 30 years of Troubleyn, Troubleyn / Jan Fabre, Antwerp (BE)
2014, De Modernen – Duo’s 2, Fabiolazaal, Antwerp (BE)
2011, The End of History and The Return of History Painting, Domus Artium, Salamanca (ES)
2010, The End of History and The Return of History Painting, Museum Arnhem (NL)
2010, No Flag is Large Enough, ISCP, New York (USA)
2010, Non-Existence Flag Project, ISCP, New York (USA)
2010, Mars Op Oostende, Mu.ZEE, Oostende (BE)
2009, Fading, Museum van Elsene, Brussels (BE)
2009, The Choice of Jan Fabre, Indian Caps, Antwerp (BE)
2009, Dry and Wet Paintings, Crown Gallery, Brussels (BE)
2008, Popeye, Oude Gevangenis, Hasselt (BE)
2008, The Aerials of Sublime Transcape, Lokaal 01, Breda (NL)
2008, See Who’s Coming, MK Gallery, Rotterdam (NL)
2007, Welcome Home, M HKA, Antwerp (BE)
2007, Darkness, AIR Art Residence, Antwerp (BE)
2007, Waaruit Bestaat een Kus, Manumental, Bornem (BE)
2007, Dry and Wet Paintings, Crown Gallery, Brussels (BE)
2006, Gorge (l), Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp (BE)
2005, My Private Heroes, Museum Marta Herford, Herford (DE)
2005, Metamorphosis II, Museum San Gimignano, San Gimignano (IT)
2004, Solo Quint II, St-Blasius Hospital, Dendermonde (BE)
2004, Metamorphosis II, Abello Museum, Mollet del Vallès, Barcelona (ES)
2003, Fonkeling, CC Strombeek, Strombeek (BE)
2003, Stille Schilders, Caermersklooster, Ghent (BE)
2002, C’est Beau, C’est Belge, Barbara Farber / La Serre, Trets (FR)
2001, An Empty Place to Stay, Summer of Poetry & Art, Watou (BE)