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entrance toward gallery exhibit revealing several drawings

Installation view, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Mirror-works and Drawings (2004-2016), 291 Grand St, January 29 - February 27, 2021

glass artwork next to a window viewing towards the street

Installation view, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Mirror-works and Drawings (2004-2016), 291 Grand St, January 29 - February 27, 2021

white gallery with several artworks

Installation view, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Mirror-works and Drawings (2004-2016), 291 Grand St, January 29 - February 27, 2021

figure approaching glass artworks

Installation view, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Mirror-works and Drawings (2004-2016), 291 Grand St, January 29 - February 27, 2021

view of the gallery with several artworks

Installation view, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Mirror-works and Drawings (2004-2016), 291 Grand St, January 29 - February 27, 2021

a person viewing glass artworks

Installation view, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Mirror-works and Drawings (2004-2016), 291 Grand St, January 29 - February 27, 2021

gallery view of two glass artworks

Installation view, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Mirror-works and Drawings (2004-2016), 291 Grand St, January 29 - February 27, 2021

three drawings side by side

Installation view, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Mirror-works and Drawings (2004-2016), 291 Grand St, January 29 - February 27, 2021

a person observing one of three drawings

Installation view, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Mirror-works and Drawings (2004-2016), 291 Grand St, January 29 - February 27, 2021

gallery view of five artworks

Installation view, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Mirror-works and Drawings (2004-2016), 291 Grand St, January 29 - February 27, 2021

gallery view of two artworks

Installation view, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Mirror-works and Drawings (2004-2016), 291 Grand St, January 29 - February 27, 2021

a person observing a glass artwork

Installation view, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Mirror-works and Drawings (2004-2016), 291 Grand St, January 29 - February 27, 2021

gallery view of two artworks with a doorway to the left leading to another room

Installation view, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Mirror-works and Drawings (2004-2016), 291 Grand St, January 29 - February 27, 2021

Image of MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN's Reflection Five, 2010

MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN
Reflection Five, 2010
Mirror and reverse-glass painting on plaster and wood
59 1/2 x 59 1/2 in
151 x 151 cm

 

JCG11809
 

red glass creating a geometric pattern

MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN
Reflection Five, 2010

 

Detail

Image of MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN's Untitled - Convertible Series, 2016

MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN
Untitled - Convertible Series, 2016
Mirror and reverse-glass painting on plaster and wood
Each: 32 x 20 in (81.3 x 50.8 cm)
Overall: 79 1/2 x 79 1/2 in (202 x 202 cm)

 

JCG11754
 

glass pieces creating a geometric pattern

MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN
Untitled - Convertible Series, 2016

 

Detail

Image of MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN's Installation of 9 elements, 2004

MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN
Installation of 9 elements, 2004
Mirror, reverse glass painting, plaster and natural glue on wood
Overall: 81 x 170 in (205.7 x 431.8 cm)
Center circle: 36 1/2 x 36 1/2 in (92.7 x 92.7 cm)

 

JCG11744
 

person observing a glass circle

MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN
Installation of 9 elements, 2004
 

Detail

rectangular and square glass tiles creating a pattern

MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN
Installation of 9 elements, 2004
 

Detail

a person observing nine glass pieces that make up one artwork
Image of MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN's Decagon, 2008

MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN
Decagon, 2008
Mirror and plaster on wood
39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in
100 x 100 cm
Edition 2 of 2

 

JCG11742

Image of MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN's Decagon, 2008

MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN
Decagon, 2008
 

Alternative view

Image of MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN's Hexagon, 2010

MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN
Hexagon, 2010
Mirror on plaster and wood
32 1/4 x 39 1/2 in
81.9 x 100.3 cm
Edition 2 of 2

 

JCG11753
 

glass pieces creating a scale-like pattern

MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN
Hexagon, 2010
 

Detail

Image of MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN's Untitled, 2012

MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN
Untitled, 2012
Felt marker, color pencil and mirror on paper
20 1/8 x 28 3/8 in
51 x 72 cm

 

JCG11845
 

Image of MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN's Untitled, 2012

MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN
Untitled, 2012
Felt marker, colour pencil and mirror on paper
27 1/2 x 39 3/8 in
70 x 100 cm

 

JCG11846
 

triangular pattern, with some colored in with blue and black marker

MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN
Untitled, 2012

 

Detail
 

Image of MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN's Untitled, 2012

MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN
Untitled, 2012
Felt marker, color pencil on paper
30 3/4 x 47 1/4 in
78 x 120 cm

 

JCG11847
 

Image of MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN's On Hexagon, 2012

MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN
On Hexagon, 2012
Felt marker, color pencil and mirror on paper
27 1/2 x 39 3/8 in
70 x 100 cm

 

JCG11851
 

Image of MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN's Untitled, 2013


MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN
Untitled, 2013
Felt-tip pen on paper
24 1/8 x 36 3/8 in
61 x 92.5 cm
(JCG12027)
 

Image of MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN's Geometric, 2014

MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN
Geometric, 2014
Felt-tip pen and metallic pen on paper
27 3/4 x 39 3/8 in
70.5 x 100 cm

 

JCG12030
 

Press Release

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian - Mirror-works and Drawings (2004-2016) - Exhibitions - James Cohan

James Cohan is pleased to present an exhibition of work by Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, on view from January 29 through March 6 at 48 Walker Street and January 29 through February 27 at 291 Grand Street. The exhibition will span both of the gallery’s locations, with a presentation of three major sculptural series in Tribeca and a selection of the artist’s geometric drawings, related sculptures, and a nine-element installation in the Lower East Side. This is the late artist’s first exhibition with James Cohan.

 

To book an appointment to visit the exhibition in person, please click here. 

 

To explore the exhibition in our Viewing Room, please click here.

 

Over six decades, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian (1922 - 2019) investigated the intricate geometries of her Iranian heritage, reconfiguring traditional craft techniques to explore the philosophical, poetic, and perceptual possibilities of interlocking primary forms. In her work, rigorous structure and repetition are the foundations of invention and limitless variation. Spanning mirrored mosaics, sculptural assemblage, drawings, textiles and monotypes, Monir’s multidimensional practice centered on incorporating elements from her inherited past into her own designs—which blended a range of compositional influences, from classical Persian interior decoration to Western modernism. 

 

Monir is best known for her geometric mirror-works, in which cut polygonal fragments of reverse-painted, reflective glass are arranged into kaleidoscopic compositions grounded on principles of Islamic geometry. Tied to a mystical understanding of primary shapes as sacred and connected to a divine natural order, her unit-based compositions of luminous glass reveal uniformity, repetition, and precedent as the basis for endless recombination. This two-part exhibition brings together major mirror-mosaic works and related geometric drawings from the prolific period following Monir's return to Iran in 2004.

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