The term ‘spolia’ stands for the reuse of architectural elements from past cultures in new buildings. In their new location, they symbolise the desire for authenticity and spread the aura of the original.
However, in my interpretation, spolia are more than just physical remains. They are symbols of the transformation of culture and the ongoing exchange between eras and worlds. At the same time, they reflect my inner archives - fragments of traditional words and images from different periods that are transferred into contemporary art.
By transferring these fragments into new contexts, works are created that move between the fluid boundaries of memory and the present. In addition to this personal pictorial iconography, I draw on the aesthetics of various genres and their techniques such as illumination, metalwork, textile art and architecture and translate them into ceramic forms.
The decision in favour of ceramic products is no coincidence: in many cultures, the material earth has a deeply rooted spiritual and philosophical meaning. The Persian polymath and poet Omar Chajjam saw in the potter's wheel a metaphor for the eternal cycle of life - the constant creation, destruction and re-creation.
The global crises, the recent conflicts in the Middle East and the resulting humanitarian crises are an inescapable driving force behind my work. At a time when violence, destruction and political repression dominate public discourse, I want to create a space through my art that makes deep wounds visible, but at the same time shows the permanence of culture. By placing ancient motifs, texts and symbols in new artistic contexts, I visualise the connection between past and present. My works remind us that cultural memory remains alive through tangible and intangible heritage. Art thus becomes a place of reflection on our shared idea of humanity and the meaning of beauty and its resilience.
The German Iranian artist Myriam Schahabian was born in 1965. She spent her childhood and youth in Tehran, where she completed a classical painting course.
After graduating from high school, she studied sculpture at the art academies of Bologna, Florence, and Stuttgart, where she was awarded the Academy Prize in 1992 and a scholarship to study abroad in 1993, which brought her back to Tehran.
There she had the opportunity to meet the art scene and to participate in the 1994 Biennale of Plastic Art.
In 2007 she was the winner of the Pamina Art Prize of the Museum am Schloss in Ettlingen.
In 2008, the German Foreign Office funded her solo exhibition "Spaces in Between" at the Tarrahane Azad Gallery in Tehran.
In 2009, she acted as curator and participating artist in the exhibition "Tehran Blues" in Karlsruhe at "Frauenperspektiven“ Festival in Karlsruhe.
Since 2009, she has been working with the State Majolica in Karlsruhe.
In 2010, together with the ZKM (Center of Media and Art) in Karlsruhe, she created the exhibition project "Limits of Control" on the current situation in Iran.
In 2012, her ceramic installation "Pattern Reflections" became part of the permanent exhibition Global Culture at the Badisches Landesmuseum (State Museum of Baden) in Karlsruhe.
In 2015, she realized the multimedia project "Fortress Europe" on the topic of migration at the city anniversary in Karlsruhe.
In 2022, she received a project grant of the Stiftung Kunstfonds for her project "Inner Archives".
2006, 2007, 2014
Aquisitions by Städtische Galerie (Civic Gallery) , Karlsruhe
2008, 2023, 2024, 2026
Acquisitions by Badisches Landesmuseum (State Museum of Baden), Karlsruhe
2025
Menart, Paris
The Resilience Of Beauty - A Witness, Yvonne Hohner Contemporary, Karlsruhe, solo, catalogue
Galerie Tammen, Berlin
2024
Spolia – Vom Gedächtnis der Dinge, Badisches Landesmuseum (State Museum of Baden), Karlsruhe, solo
Art Fair, Karlsruhe
2022
Monochrom, State Maiolica, Karlsruhe
2018
Found Footage, Blao Gallery Heidelberg, solo
2017
Tierra, Blao Gallery, Heidelberg, solo
2015
Fortress Europe, Civic Gallery Orgelfabrik, Karlsruhe, solo
2013
Global Culture, State Museum of Baden, Karlsruhe
Revision, Artpark Gallery, Karlsruhe, solo
Art Fair, Karlsruhe
2012
Virtual Borders II, Gallery of Saarland, Berlin
Virtual Borders, Kommandantenhaus, Dilsberg
2011
Interaction. Art &Media Crossing, AB Gallery, Luzern
Spektral – Diametral, Civic Gallery, Karlsruhe
Schnittmenge, pART Galerie, Karlsruhe
2010
The Limits of Control, ZKM (Center for Art and Media), Karlsruhe, solo
Limited Accsess II, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo
2009
Tehran Blues, Prinz Max Palais, Karlsruhe
Qu(art)ett, State Majolica, Karlsruhe