拍品专文
Born in Qazvin, Iran in 1922, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian was an internationally renowned artist who merged traditional Islamic geometry with modern abstractions. Known for her reverse glass painting and mirror mosaic technique, Farmanfarmaian’s work recall the interior designs of Persia and 20th century modernism, creating a unique visual language that engaged with international art movements while maintaining a philosophical vision rooted in her heritage.
Farmanfarmaian set out to reinvent the traditional ayneh-kari (mirror mosaic) technique after being inspired by them during a visit to Shah Cheragh’s shrine in Shiraz. Before then, she was living in New York during the 40s and 50s and had become a part of the avante-garde art scene, becoming friends with artists such as Louise Nevelson, Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Joan Mitchell. Following these two experiences, Monir would start introducing mirror mosaics to create kaleidoscopic compositions that explored modern geometric abstraction through an interplay of light, reflection and colour.
Exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2021 in the exhibition Epic Iran: 5000 Years of Culture, the present work is a brilliant example of Monir’s practice of reverse glass painting and mirror mosaic. Monir incorporates colourful floral panels here as a nod to her native city of Qazvin, a region known for its abundant flowers. She surrounds these panels with different geometric cuts of mirror mosaics resulting in a dynamic play of patterns and light, evoking a sense of majesty.
The first Iranian artist to hold a solo exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, Monir’s works are part of permanent collections of major institutions worldwide. This includes Tate Modern, London; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Guggenheim Museum, Abu Dhabi; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris; M+ Museum, Hong Kong, and Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran, amongst others.
Farmanfarmaian set out to reinvent the traditional ayneh-kari (mirror mosaic) technique after being inspired by them during a visit to Shah Cheragh’s shrine in Shiraz. Before then, she was living in New York during the 40s and 50s and had become a part of the avante-garde art scene, becoming friends with artists such as Louise Nevelson, Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Joan Mitchell. Following these two experiences, Monir would start introducing mirror mosaics to create kaleidoscopic compositions that explored modern geometric abstraction through an interplay of light, reflection and colour.
Exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2021 in the exhibition Epic Iran: 5000 Years of Culture, the present work is a brilliant example of Monir’s practice of reverse glass painting and mirror mosaic. Monir incorporates colourful floral panels here as a nod to her native city of Qazvin, a region known for its abundant flowers. She surrounds these panels with different geometric cuts of mirror mosaics resulting in a dynamic play of patterns and light, evoking a sense of majesty.
The first Iranian artist to hold a solo exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, Monir’s works are part of permanent collections of major institutions worldwide. This includes Tate Modern, London; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Guggenheim Museum, Abu Dhabi; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris; M+ Museum, Hong Kong, and Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran, amongst others.