Rooted/UpRooted, curated by Roya Khadjavi and Massoud Nader, which is on view from November 12 through 25 at Elga Wimmer PCC Gallery, New York, New York, connects trees, whose roots are secured deep in the earth with those who come from a place, in this case Iran, whose roots also run deep. Whereas tree roots remain in one place, the Iranian artists whose work is displayed here have been uprooted from their land, but maintain their cultural and historical roots, showing their memories and history in their work. In Omid Mohkami’s “Absence Series, a heart-rending photograph of a curved road with an unoccupied chair in its center and a dress stuck on barbed wire makes us wonder where the road leads and carries those who follow it, as they say in Maine, away. In another of Mohkami’s black and white photographs, a circle of chairs, occupied by no one, looking as if the master and his … [Read more...] about ROOTED/UPROOTED: TREES AND ARTISTS AT ELGA WIMMER PCC GALLERY
iran
“Pink Dreams in a Land with No Name. Shahram Karimi & Sara Madandar”
Relating the Sufi story’s words, “her force is in my hands”, Shahram Karimi refers not only to a mother but to his motherland. Her force inspires paintings of the artist from Shiraz, Iran, home to Persian poets Hafez and Saadi and the mystic Ruzbehan. Karimi spoke to me of his paintings filled with music, flowers and village life, in his new show, with the artist, Sara Madandar at Elga Wimmer PCC in New York, September 11-September 24. His paintings in “Pink Dreams: A Land with No Name”, depict veiled women, angels, farmers, horses and clowns, and bright red flowers. His gently moving projections making video paintings draw on his experience as Shirin Neshat’s long-time production designer, envisioning the vibrant colors of her films. Schooled in Stoic philosophy, Karimi paints to change our minds, to see beauty around us. Visions of red and pink flowers slowly unfold a land of … [Read more...] about “Pink Dreams in a Land with No Name. Shahram Karimi & Sara Madandar”
COLLECTIVE IDENTITY: MUSA CONNECTS OUR COMMON NARRATIVE
This July, “Collective Punishment,” works by 10 international artists curated by Roya Amigh, an Iranian artist now living in Boston, will be on view at the Musa Collective Gallery in Allston, Massachusetts. Perhaps only an Iranian artist poised between these two cultures and educated in both could maintain as powerful an emphasis on positive themes of global interconnectedness and collective identity. Having only experienced life in Iran under economic sanctions, Amigh seeks to counteract the depersonalization and biases so prominent in the media. She questions what it means to normalize such an existence as well as the ultimate value of intensified punitive American action toward Iran. Amigh broadens the range of imagery and perspectives by including American, Haitian, South Korean and Swiss artists as well as Iranian artists creating work here and in Tehran. Meditating on the … [Read more...] about COLLECTIVE IDENTITY: MUSA CONNECTS OUR COMMON NARRATIVE
SHAPED BY OIL: MATHEWS DOCUMENTS LIFE IN THE CASPIAN STATES
Photographer Chloe Dewe Mathews brings the environmental and cultural facets of the five countries bordering the Caspian Sea to viewers in the recently-opened exhibition, “Caspian: The Elements.” In October 2018, Mathews published a book under the same title with 125 of her photographs. Now, 30 of those photographs are being displayed at Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology in a captivating exhibition. Mathews spent five years traveling through Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan, capturing the lives of their peoples and the various unique landscapes surrounding the sea, while showing how natural resources influence the regions and their inhabitants. Each nation has different ways of using their resources and varying climates, but the Caspian Sea still unifies these countries. The exhibition provides an immersive experience for the attendees, … [Read more...] about SHAPED BY OIL: MATHEWS DOCUMENTS LIFE IN THE CASPIAN STATES