Variations on the Hexagon

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian

One of Iran’s most celebrated artists, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian created geometric mixed-media works that reflected her heritage and pushed the boundaries of abstraction. Farmanfarmaian is known for her intricate mosaics—painstakingly assembled from small polygonal mirrors—that evoke the harmony of Islamic architecture. She began working with mosaics in the late 1950s after discovering 16th-century Safavid decorative traditions. In 1958, Farmanfarmaian received the Gold Medal at the Venice Biennale; she represented Iran again in 1964 and 2009. Manifesting as rosettes, spheres, and other dimensional shapes, her interlocking pieces are also informed by her time in the New York art scenes of the 1940–70s, when she befriended artists like Frank Stella, Louise Nevelson and Joan Mitchell. Farmanfarmaian also created textiles, drawings, and monotypes that illustrate her remarkable blend of Modernist forms with Persian craft traditions.