Photo by Yona Jaanam
Short Biography
Ahmad Motalaei is an Iranian visual narrator based in Switzerland who explores the connections between memory, place, and personal experience.
His work moves between what is remembered, what is lived, and what remains unsaid.
Having spent his formative years in Iran during the 1979 Revolution and the eight-year Iran–Iraq War, Motalaei experienced history not as an abstraction, but as part of everyday life.
Air raids on his hometown of Isfahan forced his family from their home, leaving a lasting imprint on his perspective and visual language.
At the heart of his practice is the enduring presence of Persian poetry, which has served as a spiritual refuge and a quiet source of hope— a way of holding on to possibility despite difficult circumstances.
Rather than illustrating a specific past, Motalaei works through fragments and traces, creating images in which personal and collective memories converge.
His practice seeks out the stories and experiences that persist beneath the surface of places, lives, and histories.
In 2023, he conceived and co-founded Espace Contact in Neuchâtel in collaboration with Association CONTACT, reimagining former public telephone booths as platforms for artistic exchange and experimentation, and presenting works by Swiss and international artists.
Brief CV
Education
- Master in Fine Arts (MFA) TRANSform. Art & society, Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD), Switzerland, 2021
- Associate Degree in Graphic design (AA) Enghelab University of Applied Sciences, Tehran, Iran, 2001
- Diploma in Graphic Design Montazeri Art School, Isfahan, Iran, 1998
Selected Group Exhibitions
- Fanzine, CCL, St.Imier, 2026
- Printed Nostalgia, Gallery 4, Fire Station, Doha’s contemporary art space, Qatar, 2025
- Débrouillardise, Musée Paysan et Artisanal de La Chaux-de-Fonds (CH), 2025
- Centre de Culture & de Loisirs, St. Imier (CH), 2023
- Artemis Gallery, Visarte Neuchâtel, Corcelles (CH), 2021
- Grand Tour, HEAD – Genève (CH), 2021
- AeC Art Festival, L’Art en Campagne, Ornex, France, 2018
- Nuit de la Photo 15, La Chaux-de-Fonds (CH), 2016
- Tehran, Open City, Dena Gallery, Tehran, Iran, 2015
Solo Exhibitions
- Für Kinder unserer Welt, International Blackboard Organization (IBBO), St. Gallen (CH), 2013
- This is Poland, Iranian Artists Forum, Tehran, Iran, 2010
- Armenia, Iranian Photographers’ House, Tehran, Iran, 2008
Selected Film & Video Screenings
KHaus Art center, Basel (CH), 2026
Hidden Echoes, 11th Edition of the Short Film Festival, Courge Métrage , Neuchâtel (CH), 2025
Echoes of Hidden Childhood , TOPIC – Art Espace, Geneva (CH) 2025
Selected Publications
- Mutter, mach dir keine Sorgen, das ist eine ganz andere Welt, Limmat Verlag, Zürich (CH), 2021
- Das hier ist mein ganzes Leben, Limmat Verlag, Zürich (CH), 2013
- Images That Injure: Pictorial Stereotypes in the Media, Santa Barbara, CA, USA, 2011
- Visual Communication Quarterly, Philadelphia, USA, 2010
- Annual Book of Iranian Graphic Designers, Nazar Publication, Tehran, Iran, 2008
Honors
- Selected Photographer, (Creative Section)12th Iranian Photography Biennale, Tehran, Iran, 2012
- Best Photographer (Creative Section), 8th Image Festival, Tehran, Iran, 2012
- Silver Medal, TOKOHA International Graphic Design Competition, Shizuoka, Japan, 2001
Memberships
Committee Member, Visarte Neuchâtel (CH) 2023-2026
Active Member, Visarte Genève & Neuchâtel – Swiss Professional Association for Visual Artists
- Association of Iranian Photojournalists
- Institute for the Development of Contemporary Visual Arts of Iran
- Reporters Without Borders, Switzerland