Sonia Balassanian

Sonia Balassanian studied at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and Pratt Institute. Residence is recorded at New York City and Yerevan. Employment is recorded with Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art. Work by Sonia Balassanian is recorded in the collections of Museum of Modern Art and Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art.

• Name — Sonia Balassanian • Native Name — سونیا بالاسانیان Սոնյա Պալասանյան • Other Names — Sonia Amirian Balassanian, Sonia Balasanian-Amirian, Sonia Palasanean, Sonia Amirean • Birth Name — Sonia Amirian • Born — 1942 • Birthplace — Arak, Pahlavi Iran • Education — Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Pratt Institute • Occupation — Artist, curator • Known for — Painting • Spouse — Edward Balassanian

Sonia Balassanian was born in 1942 in Arak, Pahlavi Iran. In 1966, she emigrated to the United States. Balassanian attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where she received a BA degree (1970); and Pratt Institute, where she received a MFA degree (1978). In her early career she worked in installation art with sculptural elements, and later she worked in video art. She also worked on theater set design in New York City. In 1983, she was in the group exhibition, "Seven Women–Image Impact" at MoMA PS1, other artists included in the exhibition were Ana Mendieta, Anne Pitrone, Judy Rifka, Dena Shottenkirk, Susan Rothenberg, and Mimi Smith. In 1992, she and her husband Edward Balassanian co-founded the Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art. The center got its start with two seminal exhibitions, "The Show of the Nine" or "9" (1992), and "Identification" (1993). Her work is found in the museum collection at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. She has artist files at the Smithsonian American Art and Portrait Gallery Library.