The Third Line is delighted to announce the opening of its new gallery space in Alserkal Avenue, with the inaugural exhibition focusing on a solo presentation by Iranian nonagenarian Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian. The exhibition will reflect upon the different facets and materials of her geometric practice and will feature a range of drawings, carpets, and mirror works, showing the depth of her conceptual consideration of medium throughout her career.
All of the drawings presented will be making their debut, including earlier works from the 1990s that were produced while Monir was in exile in New York following the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Examples of the earlier works from the ’90s are more freehand and whimsical in nature; many of them became prototypes for carpets that were made by hand in Tabriz and Bijar, Iran. These wool and naturally dyed silk carpets present a unique insight into Monir’s experiments in material that have not been showcased before. In contrast, the more recent felt tip marker and pen drawings on paper are in tightly calculated geometrical compositions, with a multitude of roulette curves—a direction that has also evolved in her mirror works.
MONIR: Works on Paper
Authors: Etel Adnan, Frank Stella, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian; Edited by Karen Marta
This intimate book of drawings includes an extended interview by Hans Ulrich Obrist with Monir Farmanfarmaian, Etel Adnan, and Frank Stella that tells the story behind the painstakingly crafted works on paper that play a central role in the artist’s principles of repetition and progression. With the support of the LUMA Foundation and published on the occasion of the exhibition, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian: Infinite Possibility at the Solomon R. Guggenheim in New York (March 13–June 3, 2015), this publication is a snapshot of a fascinating and highly important facet of the artist’s work. Limited copies of the book will be available for sale at The Third Line bookstore.
About Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian
Monir was born in 1924 in Qazvin, Iran. Her works have been exhibited extensively in Iran, the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East, including the Soloman R Guggenheim Museum, NY; Fundação de Serralves, Porto; Prospect 3, New Orleans; Museum of Modern Art, NY; Leighton House Museum, London; Haus der Kunst, Munich; 29th Bienal de Sao Paulo, Brazil; The Third Line, Dubai; and the Venice Biennale (1958, 1964, 1966 and 2009). Monir’s major commissioned installations include work for the Queensland Art Museum, Australia (2009); the Victoria & Albert Museum’s Jameel Collection (2006); the Dag Hammerskjöd building, NY (1981); and the Niyavaran Cultural Center (1977–78), as well as acquisitions by the Metropolitan Museum, NY, The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, and most recently, the Guggenheim Museum, NY. Monir currently lives and works in Tehran, Iran.
About The Third Line
The Third Line is a Dubai-based art gallery that represents contemporary Middle Eastern artists locally, regionally and internationally. Additionally, The Third Line publishes books by associated artists and hosts non-profit, alternative programs to increase interest and dialogue in the region.
Represented artists include: Abbas Akhavan, Ala Ebtekar, Amir H. Fallah, Arwa Abouon, Babak Golkar, Ebtisam Abdulaziz, Farhad Moshiri, Fouad Elkoury, Golnaz Fathi, Hassan Hajjaj, Hayv Kahraman, Huda Lutfi, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Laleh Khorramian, Lamya Gargash, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Pouran Jinchi, Rana Begum, Sahand Hesamiyan, Sara Naim, Sherin Guirguis, Shirin Aliabadi, Slavs and Tatars, Sophia Al-Maria, Tarek Al-Ghoussein, Youssef Nabil and Zineb Sedira.