Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian: Sunset, Sunrise

Sunset, Sunrise is a major retrospective exhibition of the work of prominent Iranian artist Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian. With a career spanning more than six decades this exhibition offers a rare opportunity to rediscover the breathtakingly kaleidoscopic nature of Farmanfarmaian’s mirror sculptures, drawings, jewellery and previously unseen embroidery and collages, alongside new pen and ink drawings. Over 70 works are on display, encompassing a multitude of artistic genres which inform the artist’s practice.

Farmanfarmaian was born in Qazvin, Iran in 1924. Between 1945 and 1957, she spent her formative years amidst the New York art scene, a time marked by friendships with fellow artists such as Frank Stella and Andy Warhol, before returning to Iran. Exiled following the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Farmanfarmaian returned once again to her native Iran and has been firmly re-established there since 2004. Farmanfarmaian is considered to be one of the most important Iranian artists working today.

Sunset, Sunrise reflects a life lived between two cultures, across histories of East and West. Farmanfarmaian’s early involvement with graphic design and experimental modern abstraction in New York City gave way to a period of intense research into traditional craftsmanship and folk art in Iran’s more remote regions. Western avant-garde principles were maintained by the artist while she delved into Persian mysticism and simultaneously evoked the socio-political Islamic landscape as well as the easily recognisable geometry of Iran’s artistic and architectural heritage. Embedded in this collision of cultures, Farmanfarmaian navigated a path to her own distinct form of rich geometric abstraction.

The title of the exhibition, Sunset, Sunrise invokes the sky that both separates and connects the East and West; a moment of dawn and dusk that captures the elusive, emotive quality of life. Two key pieces, Sunset (2015) and Sunrise (2015), mark the beginning and close of the exhibition, and this poetic reflection between nature and the human heart is at play throughout Farmanfarmaian’s sixty year practice.

Sunset, Sunrise is the first solo exhibition of Farmanfarmaian’s work in Ireland. The exhibition is co-curated by Rachel Thomas (Senior Curator: Head of Exhibitions, IMMA) and Hoor Al Qasimi (Director, Sharjah Art Foundation). The exhibition is organised by IMMA in collaboration with Sharjah Art Foundation, United Arab Emirates. The exhibition will travel to Sharjah Art Foundation from November 2, 2019 to February 2, 2020.

A major publication accompanies this exhibition, featuring contributions from Rahel Aima, Hoor Al Qasimi, Tina Kinsella, Caoimhín Mac Giolla Léith, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Rachel Thomas, Murtaza Vali, together with poetry by Michael Davitt, Rumi and Sohrab Sepehri. The catalogue is co-published by IMMA and Sharjah Art Foundation. Available to purchase from the IMMA Shop.

A new Limited Art Edition has been produced for this exhibition, titled Sunrise (2018). Available to purchase from the IMMA Shop. This 2018 Edition is created from the original work Sunrise, 2015. Edition of 100.