Roksana Pirouzmand's Terracotta Figures Explore Absence and Displacement at François Ghebaly

Key facts

• Roksana Pirouzmand's solo exhibition 'a land to fall asleep' is on view at François Ghebaly in New York from 29 June to 3 August 2024.
• The exhibition features terracotta sculptures and clay panels exploring themes of absence, longing, and displacement.
• Central sculpture 'A tap, a word' (2024) depicts a kneeling figure with 20 hands that tap on its back via a motor every five minutes.
• The figure's body is cast from Pirouzmand's own, while the hands are modeled after her mother's.
• Eight clay panels use varying water-to-clay ratios to create tonal monochromes depicting anonymous figures in surreal landscapes.
• Faces are gouged from the panels, creating orifices that reference Persian-style miniature paintings and Orhan Pamuk's 'My Name Is Red' (1998).
• Works include the diptych 'counting the days until' (2023) and the series 'like a pebble in a riverbed' (2024), focusing on severance and desolation.
• All artworks are made with earth, water, fire, and air, emphasizing material experimentation and emotional effect.