LOT DETAILS

Materials:

mirror, reverse glass painting, stainless steel and plaster on wood

Size Notes:

128 by 128 cm. 50â?? by 50â?? in.

Edition:

In 1975, the year of the creation of the present work, Farmanfarmaian experienced an artistic epiphany. On a tour of her native Iran with American minimalists Robert Morris and Marcia Hafif, she visited the Shah Cheragh, a mosque in Shiraz whose interior is tessellated in a mosaic of tiny mirrored squares, triangles, and hexagons. The artist was struck: â??The very space seemed on fire, the lamps blazing in hundreds of thousands of reflectionâ?¦ It was a universe unto itself, architecture transformed into performance, all movement and fluid light, all solids fractured and dissolved in brilliance in space, in prayer. I was overwhelmed.â?? (The artist cited in: Ariella Budick, â??Where Prayer Hall meets Disco Ballâ??, Financial Times, 10 April 2015, online). This was a watershed moment for Monirâ??s practice: the moment upon which she embarked upon he mirrored series, of which the present work is a paradigmatic example. She collaborated with the artisan Hajj Ostad Mohammad Navid, who was well versed in the synthesis of cut mirrors, matt plaster, and painted glass, and for four years created works of dense conceptual content, and dazzling geometric aesthetic. Geometry of Hope shows how this mix could imbue artworks with a mood that combined the gaudiness of the â??70s disco movement with the transcendental wonder of religious architecture. Monirâ??s works â??spring from wells of minimalism and classical Persian mosaic. They merge time-honoured folk practice with the avant-garde cult of the bracingly new and the drug-induced nirvana. Warhol visited Tehran in 1976 and she presented him with a faceted reflective orb called â??Mirror Ballâ?? which looks as though it could have been spinning on the ceiling at a 1970s bar mitzvahâ?? (Ibid.)

Markings:

mirror, reverse glass painting, stainless steel and plaster on wood

Condition:

Please note the colours in the online catalogue illustration may vary depending on screen settings. This work is in very good condition. Close inspection reveals some small and unobtrusive craquelure to the mirrors, more notably across the left and upper edges, which is in keeping with the age of the work. Further close inspection reveals some signs of wear, and some minor dents and very faint and light scratches to some parts of the aluminium, which is in keeping with the artist's working process. There are some scattered signs of aging to the plaster, which is part of the natural aging of the work. The wooden original frame has some wear and minor cracks, which is also in keeping with the age of the work. The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot provided by Sotheby's. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colours and shades which are different to the lot's actual colour and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation because Sotheby's is not a professional conservator or restorer but rather the condition report is a statement of opinion genuinely held by Sotheby's. For that reason, Sotheby's condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot.