Sanam Khatibi
Value#79
Egon Investment Scores
Liquidity
4/10
How easily works can be bought and sold at auction
Institutional
8/10
Museum collections, biennials, and institutional recognition
Momentum
8/10
Recent price trends, gallery moves, and market buzz
Discovery
3/10
Undervaluation opportunity relative to peer artists
Risk
3/10
Investment risk factors — higher means more volatile
Market Position
- Pricing
- Current Status
- Gallery-represented artist with limited secondary market data
- Primary Market
- Pricing available through galleries (Mendes Wood DM, PPOW, Rodolphe Janssen) - contact galleries for current pricing
- Auction Presence
- Extremely limited to no public auction records found at major auction houses (Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips)
- Market Structure
- Primarily gallery-controlled primary market
- Liquidity
- Market Activity
- Liquidity
- Limited - predominantly primary market sales through galleries
- Fair Participation
- Art Basel Miami Beach (2018)Art Brussels (2019)Frieze New York (2020)The Armory Show (2021)Art Basel Hong Kong (2019)
- Transaction Volume
- Works sold through gallery exhibitions and art fairs
- Collector Base
- International collectors through gallery network. Notable collections include Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection, Al Thani Collection, and various institutional collectors
- Auction History
- Market Trajectory
- Ascending - significant gallery representation expansion, major institutional acquisitions, international monograph publication (2025), inclusion in major art fairs
- Market Position
- Tier
- GROWTH
- Market Positioning
- Mid-career contemporary painter with strong European base expanding internationally. Positioned in narrative figurative painting market alongside artists exploring power dynamics and art historical references
Institutional Presence
- Exhibitions
- 16th Istanbul Biennial (2019) - curated by Nicolas Bourriaud, commissioned new worksKortrijk Triennial (2021)
- Year
- 2025
- Title
- The Hunger
- Venue
- Mendes Wood DM
- Location
- Paris, France
- Year
- 2025
- Title
- I Miscalculated the Stars
- Venue
- rodolphe janssen
- Location
- Brussels, Belgium
- Year
- 2024
- Title
- We Wait Until Dark
- Venue
- P·P·O·W
- Location
- New York, NY
- Year
- 2022
- Title
- In My Dreams, I Kill Him Every Night
- Venue
- Mendes Wood DM
- Location
- São Paulo, Brazil
- Year
- 2021
- Title
- Lemon Drizzle
- Venue
- Groeninge Museum
- Location
- Bruges, Belgium
- Year
- 2020
- Title
- Cyanide
- Venue
- rodolphe janssen
- Location
- Brussels, Belgium
- Year
- 2020
- Title
- Cruelest of the Seas
- Venue
- Kunsthal Gent
- Location
- Ghent, Belgium
- Year
- 2019
- Title
- An hour before the Devil fell
- Venue
- P·P·O·W
- Location
- New York, NY
- Year
- 2019
- Title
- De ta salive qui mord
- Venue
- BPS22
- Location
- Charleroi, Belgium
- Year
- 2019
- Title
- The Murders of the Green River
- Venue
- rodolphe janssen
- Location
- Brussels, Belgium
- Year
- 2017
- Title
- Rivers in your mouth
- Venue
- rodolphe janssen
- Location
- Brussels, Belgium
- Year
- 2017
- Title
- No Church in the wild
- Venue
- The Cabin LA
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA
- Year
- 2025
- Dates
- April 4 - November 2, 2025
- Title
- Painting after Painting - A contemporary survey from Belgium
- Venue
- S.M.A.K.
- Location
- Ghent, Belgium
- Year
- 2025
- Dates
- April 11 - October 12, 2025
- Title
- You Stretched Diagonally Across It: Contemporary Tapestry
- Venue
- Dallas Contemporary
- Location
- Dallas, TX
- Year
- 2024
- Title
- Full Disclosure: Selections from the Thomas-Suwall Collection
- Venue
- Plains Art Museum
- Location
- Fargo, ND
- Year
- 2022
- Title
- Modern Love (Or Love In The Age Of Cold Intimacies)
- Venue
- National Museum of Contemporary Art
- Location
- Athens, Greece
- Year
- 2021
- Title
- Modern Love (or Love in the Age of Cold Intimacies)
- Venue
- Centraal Museum
- Location
- Utrecht, Netherlands
- Year
- 2021
- Title
- Paradise - Kortrijk Triennial
- Venue
- Kortrijk Triennial
- Location
- Kortrijk, Belgium
- Year
- 2021
- Title
- Beyond the Looking Glass
- Venue
- UTA Artist Space
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA
- Year
- 2020
- Title
- The Shameful Kiss
- Venue
- Kunstverein Dresden
- Location
- Dresden, Germany
- Year
- 2019
- Title
- The Seventh Continent - 16th Istanbul Biennial
- Venue
- 16th Istanbul Biennial
- Curator
- Nicolas Bourriaud
- Location
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Year
- 2019
- Title
- Salon de peinture
- Venue
- Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp (M HKA)
- Location
- Antwerp, Belgium
- Year
- 2018
- Title
- Mademoiselle
- Venue
- Centre Régional d'Art Contemporaine Occitaine (CRAC)
- Location
- Sète, France
- Year
- 2018
- Title
- Quel Amour!?
- Venue
- Musée d'Art Contemporain (MAC)
- Location
- Marseille, France
- Year
- 2016
- Title
- The Biennial of Painting
- Venue
- Museum of Deinze
- Location
- Deinze, Belgium
- Museum Collections
Works Institution Location Permanent collection Art Gallery of Ontario Toronto, Canada Permanent collection SMAK - Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst Ghent, Belgium Permanent collection Centraal Museum Utrecht, The Netherlands Permanent collection Norton Museum of Art West Palm Beach, FL, USA Permanent collection BPS22 - Musée d'art de la Province de Hainaut Charleroi, Belgium Permanent collection Musée d'Ixelles Brussels, Belgium Corporate collection Belfius Art Collection Belgium Public collection Province du Hainaut Belgium Private collection The Al Thani Collection Paris, France Permanent collection The Lemur Museum of Art Seoul, South Korea Private collection Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection West Palm Beach, FL, USA - Awards and Recognition
- Featured in Phaidon's 'Great Women Artists' (2022)First international monograph published by Rizzoli (2025)
- Year
- 2023
- Title
- Je serais douce
- Location
- City of Nantes, France (Le Voyage à Nantes)
- Description
- Monumental sculpture in volcanic stone and burned wood, 8.2 tons, 5.5m height
Career & Biography
- Career
- Career Milestones
- 2009: Graduated with M.A. from Central Saint Martins2016: Participated in the biennial of painting, Museum of Deinze, Belgium2018: Art Basel Miami Beach with Rodolphe Janssen Gallery2019: Participated in 16th Istanbul Biennial (curated by Nicolas Bourriaud)2019: P.P.O.W Gallery New York began representation2020: Frieze Art Fair New York with PPOW Gallery2021: Solo exhibition at Groeninge Museum, Bruges2022: Featured in Phaidon's 'Great Women Artists'2023: Monumental sculpture 'Je serais douce' for city of Nantes (8.2 tons, 5.5m)2025: First international monograph published by Rizzoli
- Identity
- Early Life
- Born in Tehran, Iran in 1979. Raised in Copenhagen, London, and Brussels. Growing up in Europe, exposed to work by western and non-western masters from a young age. At age six, discovered Hieronymus Bosch and became fascinated by his work rather than frightened. Mother was extremely passionate about the arts and regularly bought artwork for her private collection, fostering Khatibi's adoration for visual arts and culture.
- Studio Practice
- Known for collecting diverse objects (vintage Japanese tea boxes, terracotta statues, Persian brass pots, Oriental figurines, etc.) which appear directly in her paintings. Works from studio in Brussels/Paris with extensive reference library.
- Current Location
- Lives and works between Paris, France and Brussels, Belgium
- Artistic Context
- Artistic Influences
- Hieronymus Bosch (primary influence since age 6)Frida KahloHenry DargerNancy SperoFrancis BaconBayeux TapestryPre-Columbian artDutch still life vanitas painting
Artistic Profile
- Evolution
- Evolution of Practice
- Began with paintings, expanded to include tapestries, embroideries, ceramic sculptures, and large-scale public installations. Recent work shows increased engagement with still life and vanitas traditions. Titles have become increasingly poetic and integral to meaning.
- Influences
- Influences on Work
- Hieronymus Bosch - primary influence, discovered at age 6, informs fantastical landscapes and moralistic yet ambiguous narratives
- Frida Kahlo - exploration of female identity and power
- Francis Bacon - primal impulses, lack of distinction between human and beast
- Dutch still life vanitas painting - memento mori themes
- Bayeux Tapestry - narrative structure and decorative quality
- Pre-Columbian art - exotic imagery and ritualistic themes
- Medieval illuminations - scale and decorative approach
- Visual Language
- Ranges from miniature panels (13cm x 18cm) to large-scale paintings (250cm x 200cm) and monumental sculptures (5.5m height) Vibrant colors, verdant greens, exotic and alluring color schemes. Described as 'fantastical' and 'sumptuously detailed.'
- Themes and Subjects
- Animality and primal impulses
- Power structures and dynamics (triumph/failure, domination/submission)
- Male-female dynamics
- Human-animal relationships
- Excess, loss of control, bestiality
- Fear and desire (the thin line between)
- Violence, sensuality, seduction
- Chaos, destruction
- Nature vs. civilization
- Ritualistic behavior
- Nude female figures as dominant 'predators' and 'nymphs'
- Males represented as animals (deer, crocodiles, snakes, lions)
- Exotic, verdant, fantastical landscapes
- Flora and fauna depicted on same plane as human figures
- Still life arrangements with symbolic objects
- Memento mori and vanitas imagery
- Movements and Periods
- Notable Series
- 'The Murders of the Green River' (2019) - examining crimes of serial killer Gary Ridgway
- Miniature vanitas paintings - reflecting on pursuit of goods and pleasures and transience of life
- Protection Charms/Amulets - ritualistic small-scale works
- Large-scale figurative landscapes - ongoing signature works
- Techniques and Mediums
- Multidisciplinary practice including paintings (oil and pencil on canvas/panel), embroideries, tapestries, sculptures (ceramic), and installations Oil and pencil on canvas or panel. Highly detailed, miniature-like quality in some works. Influenced by Renaissance painting, Dutch still life, medieval illuminations. Meticulous rendering of textures (bark, foliage, objects). Works ranging from intimate panels to monumental canvases.
Critical Reception
- Critical Reception
- Strong and growing. Critics praise her masterful rendering of details, fantastical landscapes, and exploration of power dynamics. Work described as 'witchy landscapes whose ritualistic imagery is open to interpretation.' Hyperallergic noted she 'paints bark worth looking at' with 'remarkable details.' Positioned as important voice in contemporary figurative painting exploring themes of power, gender, animality, and human nature. Featured in major art historical publications (Phaidon's Great Women Artists). Subject of first international monograph with essays by leading curators and writers. Discussed in context of contemporary feminist art practice and historical art references.
- Publications and Media
- Major Publications
Title Year Publisher Sanam Khatibi: Everything I Don't Remember 2025 Rizzoli New York Great Women Artists 2022 Phaidon Press Limited Cyanide (exhibition catalogue) 2021 Posture Editions Beyond the Looking Glass (exhibition catalogue) 2021 UTA Artist Space The Murders of the Green River (exhibition catalogue) 2019 rodolphe janssen My garden is wilder than yours 2018 Posture Editions Rivers in your mouth (exhibition catalogue) 2017 rodolphe janssen
Gallery & Representation
- Fair Presence
- Fair Participation History
- Art Basel Miami Beach (2018, represented by Rodolphe Janssen)Art Brussels (2019, represented by Rodolphe Janssen)Art Basel Hong Kong (2019, Booth 1D39)Frieze New York (2020, represented by PPOW)The Armory Show (2021, Booth S2)
- Representation
- Gallery Tier Assessment
- Strong mid-tier to upper-tier gallery representation with international reach. Mendes Wood DM is particularly notable for representing emerging to mid-career artists with institutional validation. PPOW has strong New York presence. Rodolphe Janssen is leading Belgian contemporary gallery.
- Geographic Reach
- Works available through galleries - pricing upon request
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