Mirror Variations: The Art of Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian has an international reputation for sculpture and drawing that fuses traditional Persian patterns based in mathematics with the geometric abstract art she got to know while living in New York City from 1945 to 1957. The artist’s primary materials¬ – mirror and painted glass – were used extensively in traditional Persian architecture. Her work develops out of her interest in the serial progression of rectilinear forms, such as triangles, pentagons, and hexagons. Large sculptural reliefs with surfaces of cut mirror mosaic and reverse-glass painting form the core of Mirror Variations: The Art of Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian. Works in the Convertible Series are multipart reliefs comprised of nearly-identical, interlocking elements which can be exhibited in a variety of configurations, each designed by the artist. Based on an ancient honeycomb dome design, the work Untitled (Muqarnas) unfolds like symmetrical mirrored wings. The exhibition also includes drawings featuring complex geometric motifs in jewel-tone colors.

Farmanfarmaian was born in Qazvin, Iran in 1924. She has studied and worked both in Iran and the United States. Her art has been included in numerous solo and group art exhibitions internationally, including a one-person exhibition in 2015 at New York’s Guggenheim Museum.

Lead Sponsor

Wege Foundation

Support for this exhibition is generously provided by:

James and Mary Nelson
Dirk and June Hoffius
Greg and Meg Willit
Jeff Gurney and Xuesi Li
Haworth, Inc.

Additional funding is provided by the GRAM Exhibition Society

Jane and John Meilner
Martin and Enid Packard
Progressive AE
Dr. Ghayas and Joy Uddin
Clark Communications