1961 Urmia, Iran born Romin Mohtasham is an Iranian photographer, educator, and exhibiting artist whose practice spans decades of sustained engagement with visual storytelling, conceptual imagery, and poetic documentation. His work navigates the boundaries between reality and perception, often reflecting on memory, landscape, and the philosophical dimensions of image-making.
Over the course of his career, Mohtasham has presented his work in more than sixty exhibitions, both locally and internationally. His photographs have been shown across a wide geographical range, including Iran, Spain, Greece, Japan, Cyprus, Singapore, Austria, France, Turkey, Italy, Oman, Iraq, and Belgium, reflecting a broad engagement with diverse cultural and artistic contexts.
Mohtasham has also published two notable books that encapsulate key aspects of his artistic vision: Your Reality Is Merely an Illusion (Cheshmeh, 2015), and Empty Chalik (Urmia Leak) (Nazar, 2017). These publications further articulate his exploration of perception, absence, and the metaphoric potential of photographic imagery.
Mohtasham received his B.A. in Photography from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran in 1990. He later completed an Artistic M.A. in 2008 through the Artists Evaluation Center of Iran. Alongside his artistic career, he has been actively involved in education as a university instructor in art and photography, contributing to the development of younger generations of image-makers. He is also a member of the Iranian Photographers Society.
His work has been widely recognized through numerous awards and distinctions. Notably, he has received Special Prizes at the 4th, 8th, 10th, and 11th Biennials of the Photo Festival of Iran. Internationally, his accolades include the Gold Medallion at the 56th Photo Festival of Asahi Shimbun in Japan (1996), the Gold Medallion in the Nature category at the International Photo Festival of Austria (2002), and the Gold Medallion at the Creative Photography Festival of Singapore (2005). In 2011, he was awarded the Golden Lens at the International Photo Festival of Knokke-Heist in Belgium, followed by a Silver Medallion at the First International Photo Contest of BUFSAD in Bursa, Turkey (2013).
Through his multifaceted practice as an artist, educator, and author, Romin Mohtasham continues to contribute to contemporary photography, both within Iran and on the international stage.
