Vibrant gradients and sculptural forms draw viewers into conversations about resistance and control. Figures are often restricted and tethered to domestic objects and space, with physical separation between people. Hinged shutters, suspended cords, and small faces hidden in openings obscure women, leaving only fragments of limbs or faces visible. Persian architectural motifs are paired with Christian altarpiece structures, shifting attention inward toward lived experience. Large works show women supporting Persian buildings while dark, oil-like liquid seeps from foundations. The body of work was underway before the U.S. war against Iran, reflecting ongoing life in a region marked by continual crisis. Beauty and self-empowerment remain possible despite chaos and government overreach.
"Figures, in Khosravi's works, are often restricted and tethered to domestic objects and space, and critically, physically separated from one another. Complete with hinged shutters, suspended cords, and tiny visages tucked into unassuming openings, these new pieces incorporate women obscured by their surroundings, leaving only fragments of a limb or face visible."
"While altarpieces have historically been utilized to share stories of the divine through visual depictions, Khosravi instead turns inward. She lives and works in Stamford, Connecticut, and her homesickness and longing for a changed Iran are strong. Large-scale works like "Bearing" portray a seated woman buttressing a Persian building, thick, black, oil-like liquid seeping from its foundation."
"What Remains was already in progress before the U.S. war against Iran, the gallery shares. The works are therefore not in response to this particular conflict but rather a timely acknowledgment of what it means to live in a region continually in crisis. As always, Khosravi reminds us that even amid chaos, destruction, and government overreach that outlasts any singular emergency, beauty and self-empowerment can still trigger a new paradigm."
"Through vibrant gradients that radiate across her sculptural paintings, Khosravi entices the viewer into urgent, ongoing conversations about resistance and control. Fusing elements of Persian architecture with Christian altarpieces, Arghavan Khosravi grapples with the structures and ideological strictures that shape our lives."
#iranian-art #womens-equality #censorship-and-religious-dogma #resistance-and-control #persian-architecture
Read at Colossal
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]