Moderna Museet Surveys Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian in First Major Nordic Show
The Moderna Museet in Stockholm is showcasing "Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian: Tehran/New York," marking the first significant exhibition of the Iranian artist (1922–2019) in the Nordic region. This non-chronological display is organized under themes such as "Spring" and "Longing," featuring over one hundred pieces created between 1970 and 2015, including ink paintings and mirrored-glass reliefs. The exhibition begins with Untitled (1976) and includes notable works like Poetry Books (1970) and Untitled (1974). Drawings from the late 1970s and early 1980s lead into labyrinth designs, while "heartache boxes" from the early 1990s symbolize her husband’s passing. Additionally, Bahman Kiarostami's film Monir (2017) is screened, though the artist's life story is not the main focus. After twenty-five years in exile, Farmanfarmaian trained abroad before returning to Iran.
Key facts
- Moderna Museet's survey is the first major presentation of Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian in the Nordic countries
- The exhibition comprises over a hundred works dating from 1970 to 2015
- The display is non-chronological, with sections titled "Spring," "Longing," and "Fragments"
- Farmanfarmaian (1922–2019) lived in exile for twenty-five years after her Tehran home and studio were confiscated following the 1979 Islamic Revolution
- She returned to Iran in the early 2000s and resumed collaborating with craftsmen who had assisted her mirror-mosaics in the 1970s
- Her 2015 Guggenheim exhibition in New York was the first retrospective of an Iranian artist at that museum
- Bahman Kiarostami's film Monir (2017) is shown in a half-hidden side room
- The show includes ink drawings made with flies from the late 1970s and early 1980s and "heartache boxes" from the early 1990s
Entities
Artists
- Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian
- Yayoi Kusama
- Olafur Eliasson
- Bahman Kiarostami
- Marcel Duchamp
- Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Institutions
- Moderna Museet
- The Estate of Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian
- NORR COHAN
- Guggenheim
- Kunstkritikk
Locations
- Stockholm
- Sweden
- New York
- United States
- Tehran
- Iran
- Park Avenue