Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Frieze New York, The Third Line, Installation view, 2015
The Third Line is participating in the 4th edition of Frieze New York and is exhibiting a solo presentation by nonagenarian Iranian artist Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian. Monir is also the subject of a major solo exhibition Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian: Infinite Possibility. Mirror Works and Drawings 1974–2014, currently on at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.
Returning to Frieze New York, The Third Line is participating with more than 190 leading international galleries. This time, the gallery is presenting a focused booth on the distinguished career of Monir, which has spanned more than five decades.
Monir’s sculptures, drawings and installations incorporate traditional reverse glass painting, mirror mosaics and principles of Islamic geometry with a modern sensibility. Through wall based panels and free standing works, she presents both a detailed craft and contemporary abstraction that employs an interaction of surface texture, light and reflection, colour and form.
Monir’s characteristic mirror mosaic work is derived from the Iranian decorative technique aineh-kari, which dates back to the sixteenth century. However, the artist pushes beyond the craft to explore the forms of the medium and experiment with the infinite possibilities of creation the geometrical forms allow her. Along with the mirror works are the artists drawings in felt marker, pen and ink. Monir combines her exploration of geometric forms with her long standing interest in architectural forms, in layered works of coloured lines inspired by the forms of nomadic tents, minarets and models for architectural sculptures.
