Nargess Hashemi (b. 1979, Iran) studied Ancient Persian at the Neyshabur Institute and Fine Art at Tehran University.

Hashemi's works are intimate observations of the dualities that permeate her daily life in Iran by using a diverse range of techniques and materials including monoprinting, macramé, graph paper and acetate. Her style is continuously evolving, from her largely figurative works depicting domestic and celebratory scenes, to her works in which she uses graph paper to experiment with more abstract, geometric compositions. The use of patterns is another dominant element in Hashemi's work while she reimagines architecture with unthinkable freedom.

Hashemi’s abstract, geometric blueprints, rendered with mixed media and collaged materials on paper and canvas, map such imaginary, human-centric cities—places that unite rather than divide. These urban plans were created with the coexistence of different groups of people in mind, and are depicted from varying distances, ranging from 100 metres to five kilometres, to show viewers how everything is connected to serve these communities. Satellite View from 500 m – Housing Complex for Crafts People and the Research of Handicraft (2017), features culturally diverse homes, represented by whimsical symbols such as hearts, stars and geometric flowers. The images are visually beautiful, but the true poignancy of the works come after deciphering the checkerboards of coloured pixels protruding between the homes, signifying cultural and educational centres, solar energy facilities, as well as places for ecological study. For Hashemi, all aspects of life—the pragmatic, intellectual and spiritual—are intertwined, evidencing the humanistic qualities of her vision of utopia. (Excerpted from Lesley Ann Gray’s review in Art Asia Pacific, 2018.) 

She has had numerous solo shows in Tehran as well as at Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde, Dubai. She has also participated in several group exhibitions including, Forgive me, distant wars, for bringing flowers home, Officine Grandi Riparazioni, Turin (2018); Good Morning… Good Night!, Ducal Museum Palace, Mantova (2018); The Creative Act: Performance, Process, Presence, in collaboration with Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh and Hesam Rahmanian, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (2016);The Language of Human Consciousness, Athr Gallery, Jeddah (2014); Wishes and Dreams, Touring exhibition of Meridian International Centre, Washington DC and New York as well as, Iranian Spring, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (2004). 

Her work can be found in the collections of the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi Private, Abu Dhabi; the collection of HH Sheikha Osha bint Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi; the Afkami Collection, Dubai and the Farjam Collection, Dubai.

Hashemi lives and works in Tehran, Iran.