Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian’s Convertible series of sculptures marry her enduring interest in repetition and seriality with explorations into modularity and permutability. Each wall-based mirror work within this series is composed...
Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian’s Convertible series of sculptures marry her enduring interest in repetition and seriality with explorations into modularity and permutability. Each wall-based mirror work within this series is composed of segments that can be assembled in myriad patterns, folded and unfolded according to diagrams drawn by the artist—some based on extant decorative patterns, and others of her own invention. In Monir’s own words, they enable her to “play with ideas of infinity.”
Untitled - Convertible Series (2016) is comprised of six identical modules, each perfectly symmetrical and consisting of eight sides. Here, uniformity and precise, repetitive geometries allow the component forms to interlock into infinite tesselating arrangements. Arranged into a ring, as shown, the work creates a shape with twelve points, which, according to Sufi numerological theory, represents the zodiac and also the twelve orifices of the body.
Monir Farmanfarmaian: A Mirror Garden, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA, November 18, 2022 - April 9, 2023 Mirror-works and Drawings (2004–2016), James Cohan Gallery, New York, NY, January 29 - March 6, 2021