Lot 117: Monir Farmanfarmian (Iranian, b. 1924)

Monir Farmanfarmian (Iranian, b. 1924)
Untitled
signed, located and dated 'MONIR-SH FARMANFARMAIAN TEHERAN 2005' and signed and dated in Farsi (on the reverse)
mirror and glass on panel
28¼ x 50½in. (72 x 128.5cm.)
Executed in 2005

Monir Farmanfarmian works with glass mosaics and reverse glass painting with plaster, combining traditional Islamic designs with a contemporary aesthetic to reinterpret sumptuous the Qajar interiors in holy places and rooms such as the Diamond Hall in the Golestan Palace, Tehran, whilst at the same time her work is also related to the minimalism of the work her friend and colleague Frank Stella.
Farmanfarmian was among the most prominent Iranian artists of the 1960s and 1970s, but most of her works of that era were lost post-Revolution. The artist resumed work in mirror mosaic in the years following 2004, and her works show the renewed vigour of the artist after her long exile.