More on: Visual Art

Triangles have a special place in her abstract work, sometimes commenting on the politics of space, such as geodesy and the Orientalist map-making undertaken by colonial powers.

Triangles have a special place in her abstract work, sometimes commenting on the politics of space, such as geodesy and the Orientalist map-making undertaken by colonial powers.

The story of my family was spread out there every day. It is the gathering of family that drives the paintings, and my life.

We seemed to live on the edge of oblivion.

For us Iranians, carpets are not just objects but a sacred part of family existence: We are born, live, and die on carpets.

An artist’s solitary toil often elicits comparison with the life of a cloistered monk, as both vocations navigate between isolation and communion.

Silence is a deprivation all its own. It is a vast desert where one’s chitchat and puffed-up sense of self go to die. By fasting from myself, I gave my soul a fighting chance to pass through the empty desert and enter the distant garden. As I slowed down and listened to the poetry of Scripture, my soul found the rhythm of being beloved. It was lush, green nourishment. The word of God was a feast all its own.

Our ideals may seem broken and fractured, but they can be remade into a more beautiful reality. As the series progressed, the flowers gained back their glorious colors, celebrating the richness of life while showing the growing pains that come with finding a new form.