About Zangar
Moeineddin Shashaei is an Iranian jeweler and visual artist based in Brooklyn, New York. Moein designs jewelry as architecture on an intimate scale. Each piece is a sculpture made for installation and activation on the human body.
Moein’s early training as an architect, and his advanced study of fine art and design, informs an interdisciplinary approach to jewelry-making. He received a degree in architecture from the College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, one of the earliest high art institutes in Iran where students across disciplines work in community as artists and activists. Moein was introduced to foundational metalworking at the studio of Naser Giv Ghassab, a contemporary artist and traditional jeweler based in colorful midtown Tehran. His early metalworks earned him a place in the masterclass of legendary modern artist Parviz Tanavoli, exploring jewelry as sculpture.
Since moving to New York City, Moein has developed and exhibited his work in visual art and design. He is a professor of art and design at Pratt Institute School of Design, and Pace University. In 2021, Moein founded ZANGAR (zang'aar/ archaic Farsi for RUST), focusing his passion for design and his training in traditional metalworking into the production of sustainably sourced, handcrafted jewelry.
Acknowledgments
Respect
Zangar respects the earth’s precious materials. We use only fairmined gold, processed and extracted sustainably from small-scale mines that give back to the local community. We reuse and recycle materials to create less waste.
Relationship
Zangar’s production occurs locally in New York City, engaging a diverse community of artisans including casters, glass blowers, and metal workers, whose personal skills and stories are woven into the process and completion of each work.
Community
Zangar believes in the communal power of art. We wish to subvert the fashion industry’s consumerism and waste by creating lasting, wearable art focused on caring connection with humans and our more-than-human world.
