In Two Horizons, Saman and Sasan Oskouei turn their gaze toward the landscapes that shaped their childhood. The paintings emerge from recollections of the mountains surrounding Tabriz, where they were born and raised. These works do not simply depict a place; rather, they evoke its afterimage—tracing the contours of personal and collective histories, where time and memory fold into abstract landscapes that shift and shimmer before the viewer.
The sculptures draw inspiration from the red soil of Hormoz Island, whose vivid color speaks to both the beauty and the weight of homeland. Material becomes a carrier of memory, shaped into forms that feel at once organic and enduring, as if holding within them the quiet persistence of place.
Together, these works explore resilience, memory, and the passage of time through the language of landscape. Two Horizons reflects on how place informs identity, tracing the subtle and often elusive line between memory, nature, and belonging.
2025
2025
IRL Gallery, NY, 2025
In the exhibition Terra Forma artists and brothers Saman and Sasan Oskouei deliver particles and perfect circles emerging from translucent layers of color reminiscent of mountain ranges, sediment layers and sunbaked soil. But these abstract landscapes offer no firm ground under our feet. Instead, we witness a series of colliding forms giving shape to enigmatic mirages of slumbering dunes covered in hazy dust clouds.
These muted hues of the layers of the earth are accompanied by forms and materials inspired by contemporary factoryscapes. However, the presence of architectural geometry and steely cold surfaces rejects any association with gloomy smokestacks or welding fumes. In a series of sculptures hard steel is playfully embraced by the rhythms of the earth and bent into organic shapes. As children of a marriage between factory dust and pollen, these fabricated plants carry forth smooth spheres of warm cherrywood as if they were sacrificial gifts – or the building blocks – of a not-too distant future.
With these bodies of soil, steel, and dust Saman and Sasan Oskouei direct our attention towards the importance of a renewed understanding of the mutual exchange between man and the constantly evolving forms of nature.
Danysz Gallery, Paris, 2025
There is much to be said – and much being said – about the conditions and the state of nature at a moment in history where multiple species face extinction, where lush sceneries turn into wastelands and ice withdraws to its fluid state with unforeseen consequences. This tale of steady, catastrophic evolution seems to hold no place or time for meditation, when action appears to be the only solution.
The exhibition “Flora Urbanica” offers a provocatively quiet response to these issues in its exploration of the urban flora and its amalgamation with the architecture that surrounds it. With the title’s spin on the Enlightenment’s craze for collection, classification and identification of natural phenomena, artists Saman and Sasan Oskouei adopt a somewhat different strategy than the careful documentation of the world at play in the scientific systems of taxonomy that still hold power today: in their artistic vision we are powerlessly enfolded in the ongoing processes of a nature woven into the very fabric of the cities we inhabit.
In the exhibited works the intricate anatomies of plants and seeds are turned into abstract forms and transposed onto canvas and sculptural objects as if they were extensions of the creations of nature with a will of their own. Seeds breaking through soil, or the slow unfurling of a leaf in spring morph into compositions that seem to shift gradually and kaleidoscopically before our eyes. Fluid lines and earthy textures, occasionally trapped in architectural structures, contribute to a sense of being suspended in time, subjected to the same cyclic and mystic rhythms as these vaguely recognizable species.
The materials used range oil paint, wooden and steel sculpture to plants. Central to the exhibition are two embroidered works based on patterns created by the artists and produced by their mother Sima Bahramghanad, residing in Tabriz, Iran. Embroidery has historically adopted its ornamental imagery from the organic forms of nature, its tactile properties closely associated with the (female) body. Typically confined to the intimacy and privacy of the feminine sphere, it has held a quietly subversive power as a promoter of secret histories, far removed from the ecosystems of public discourse. Here, embroidery tells an equally intimate tale of familial bonds nurtured across continents. It emerges as an act of resistance against given political conditions, which is deeply ingrained in the DNA of the Oskouei brothers’ artistic practice.
The evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) claimed that when fertilizing flowers “bees will act like a camel-hair pencil”, beautifully imagining nature as artist. And the painter J.A.M. Whistler (1834-1903) believed that the work of art should emerge “the way nature produces plants.” However different in scope and attitude, these statements remind us that the Oskouei brothers’ playful pollinations of canvas, steel and cherrywood have precursors in the history of art. The garden they cultivate here is nourished by curiosity, a subtle simplicity, bordering on innocence, not by charged statements. The calm presence of their enigmatic objects asks us kindly to leave them alone, to let the quiet unfolding of something new happen without our interference.
Having long incorporated abstract and organic shapes in their work, Saman and Sasan Oskouei now take a full plunge into abstraction, albeit honoring their roots in urban culture and their ongoing exploration of our place in nature. The floral architecture they present us with serves as a potent metaphor for the resilience and adaptability of nature within the modern cityscape, but it also invites viewers to meditate on their own cohabitation with nature. In other words, the Oskouei brothers suggest we re-familiarize ourselves with nature in its urban setting, however unprepared or oblivious we may be of its beauty.
2024
Zone Contemporaine, Bern, Switzerland, 2023
A foundation of capitalism is the uncritical belief that the conception of our goods is immaculate, dehumanizing the process that went into their creation. This installation challenges our perceptive culture of the role of labor beneath the surface of our modern society, where goods are the end results of production and manufacturing by actual humans, deserving of more recognition, respect and gratification.
Clear pallets placed at eye level present a convenient opportunity to ignore what lays beneath and to accept the dissonance of what floats above, while acknowledging our individual responsibility in the status quo. Transparency here makes the unseen, seen.
Four Freedoms Park, NY, 2022
Engraved with the names of a fraction of those arrested during Iran’s ongoing revolution, these bricks represent the strength of the activists who are currently risking their lives, inside and outside prisons, to fight oppression. This installation is an homage to political prisoners and all those paving the way to revolution in Iran.
Protests spanning across 146 cities have rapidly turned into Iran’s first ever feminist-led revolutionary movement. Since 16 September 2022, over 18,000 people have been arrested, a figure which includes children.
#MahsaAmini
Bien Urbain festival, Besançon, France, 2021
2022
The Weight of Less is an ongoing series that transforms everyday objects by carving away material until their function collapses. As ladders can no longer support a body and pallets can no longer bear weight, these familiar forms shift from tools of use to fragile sculptures that question permanence and value.
2022
Saarbuken – Germany, 2022
This installation is ode to all the workers as well as remembrance for forced laborers who worked at iron factory between 1915-1918.
Yellow safety helmets put together in a shape of a pyramid, symbolizes the importance of workers in all times.
Danysz Gallery, Paris, 2022
Familiar Stranger reflects on the contradictions and dissonances of the world we inhabit today. We find ourselves in a time of profound and accelerating change – from the escalating effects of global warming to the ongoing refugee crisis, and a modern society overwhelmed by an excess of information. The smartphone has become a contemporary hypodermic needle, delivering digital dopamine around the clock and leaving us increasingly susceptible to patterns of compulsive overconsumption. We witness these transformations unfolding in real time, yet we experience them with an unsettling sense of estrangement. What once felt known now appears unfamiliar – the familiar turning into its own stranger.
The exhibition brings together works shaped in steel, pieces created from fencing materials, paintings made using a custom tool developed by the artists, and a video installation titled What Will Remain If We Don’t Act. This installation presents the skeletal outline of a home destroyed by climate-driven disasters – storms, floods, and extreme conditions fueled by rising methane levels in the atmosphere. It speaks to the consequences of political denial, capitalist excess, and the greed that continues to push our planet toward irreversible change.
The ruined home stands as a metaphor for a larger dwelling: Earth itself. Familiar Stranger invites viewers to confront this moment of disconnection and urgency, and to reflect on what may remain – for us, and for future generations – if we fail to act.
Civita, Molise, Italy, 2022
Made with chairs from an abandoned school in Civita Campomarano village in Molise, Italy that was closed in 2007.
2021
Poughkeepsie, NY, 2021
Steel sculpture for spring break art show and upstate immersive outdoor exhibition as part of upstate art weekend . Curated by zahra sherzad
Permanent Public art intervention in Lisbon, portugal, 2020
This work presents a European flag made out of steel fence and barbed wire the materials evoke the physical barriers that migrantsface while trying to enter Europe and while they await with hope in refugee camps with inhuman conditions.
Despite the harsh reality it explores, the piece also tries to convey hope – the hope that the asylum seekers have. The lines create a silhouette allowing the sky in the background to come through in order to give a hopeful feeling. Its location in front of the river that runs into the ocean alludes to the sea voyage that many of them undertook and and are still undertaking in their search for a better life.
Special thanks to Underdogs Gallery for making this project happen
The work is on View at Praca Europa ( between cats do sore and Ribeira das Naus) in Lisbon. Portugal
Danysz Gallery, Paris, 2020
This body of work marks a continuation of our evolving series and the visual language we have been shaping over the past few years. During this period, we consciously began selecting specific materials to speak to specific issues: fencing became a medium through which to address border control and the ongoing refugee crisis, while old, rusted shovels – recast into the silhouettes of working-class figures allowed us to reflect on labor, dignity, and the weight of social inequality. As we experimented with these objects and the histories they carry, we also started developing our own tools for making marks. From this process emerged the cut-out steel tool – a device that enables us to paint through movement, letting gesture, motion, and material interplay in ways that feel both controlled and unpredictable.
In this exhibition, sculptures, installations, and paintings coexist as facets of the same inquiry. Together, they navigate themes of economic inequality, ecological justice, borders, displacement, and the layered complexities of contemporary society. The works do not seek to offer solutions; rather, they invite viewers to pause within the turbulence, to witness how these forces shape the world we inhabit, and to consider the fragile yet persistent connections between people, place, and possibility.
Riverhill art residency, NY, 2020
2020
Slab City, CA, 2020
2020
2021
“Capitalism” is metaphorical piece that reflects on effects of capitalism on the poor.
these objects lose their functionality once its folded. represents the lack of access to one of the most basic human needs: food.
San Diego, 2019
The first time we stood at the San Diego–Tijuana border, watching the wall disappear into the Pacific Ocean, the experience felt almost unreal. The sight of the sea interrupted by a man-made barrier left us with a simple question: how can water be divided? If nature recognizes no borders, why do we continue to draw them?
Border Wall reflects on this contradiction. A mirrored surface extends the image of the fence until a fracture shatters its reflection. In that instant, the wall dissolves, leaving only the landscape beyond it. The work is less about the border itself than the illusion of its permanence.
Tenacity of Hope ( collaboration with spenser little ) continues this meditation through a boat constructed from border fencing. Resting at the edge of the ocean, it speaks to migration, resilience, and the fragile hope carried by those who cross both physical and invisible boundaries.
In Hope Is Not an Illusion, a mirror transforms the border wall into an open doorway. By reflecting the landscape beyond, the work briefly dissolves the barrier, offering a quiet reminder that every wall carries within it the possibility of an opening.
Lesbos, Greece, 2019
In the past few years, we have created works addressing immigration and the refugee crisis. When we decided to visit a refugee camp in Greece, we felt we wanted to do more than just create another installation. We came up with the idea of giving flower plants and creating a vegetable garden—something that could provide both practical use and a little joy. Seeing the smiles on people’s faces, even for a brief moment, was truly wonderful.
We know that this project didn’t change their situation. Since the EU closed its borders, many people have been stuck in the camps for up to three years, uncertain how long they will have to wait, living under inhumane conditions. In Moria Camp, asylum seekers struggle to access safe and adequate accommodation, basic hygiene, food, essential items, and healthcare. Families with young children live in flimsy tents or cramped containers, with too few toilets and showers, many of which are poorly maintained—putting them at risk of serious health problems.
Most of the people there come from war-torn countries such as Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. They came to Europe seeking safety—far from the sounds of bombings, hoping for a better future for their children. They have endured exhausting journeys and unimaginable hardships. They deserve better. They deserve our support.
Time Square, NY, 2018
For Time Square arts x Spring break art show, Curated by Zahra Sherzad
San Diego, 2018
United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and a corrupt and inhumane prison system. For example a person who has been recently released from prison is ineligible for welfare. they are not eligible for subsidized housing, they can’t find a job because of their Criminal record. Essentially, they come back to a society that is not prepared structurally or emotionally to welcome them back. most inmates who enter the system are likely to reenter within a few years of their release.
This prison cell is made with ladders, The ladder symbolizes the lessons that a prisoner can learn and want to move up in the society and to change to be a better person, but the prison system here makes that impossible because they can try to climb up the ladder but they never really get anywhere.
Wall Street, NY, 2018
Tblisi, Georgia, 2017
2017 – 2019
2017 – 2018
Straat Museum, Amsterdam, 2017
Berlin, Germany, 2017
Rockaway Beach, NY, 2017
Arizona, 2016
THE KILLING WIND
Toxic radioactive particles left over from abandoned uranium mines on Navajo land take the form of dust which travels with the wind for hundreds of miles. It can be inhaled or blow into streams or onto nearby ground spreading radioactive contamination.
NO MORE YELLOWCAKE
Yellowcake is a product of uranium mining. Many Navajo people worked at the mines, often living and raising families in close proximity; they were unknowingly exposed to dangerous levels of radiation and chemicals. Uranium mining and yellowcake processing continues today and threatens the environment and the health of communities across the U.S.”
RADIOACTIVE POLLUTION KILLS, ITS TIME TO CLEAN UP THE MINES
There are over 500 abandoned uranium mines on The Navajo Reservation and more than 80% of the mine sites have not been cleaned up. There are currently no federal laws that require clean up of these hazardous sites and they continue to pose significant danger to the Navajo people
CONTAMINATED LAND
The navajo people did not have a word for radioactivity and did not know about the dangers of radiation in the 1940s when mining companies began surveying their land. Today the mines are closed but their toxic legacy persist in contaminated soil and drinking water with elevated levels of radiation. There are still over 500 abandoned mines scattered throughout the Navajo land posing serious health risks include lung cancer from inhalation of radioactive particles, as well as bone cancer and impaired kidney function.
2016
Nuart Festival, Norway, 2015
2013 – 2015
2013 – 2017
