The first New York institutional solo-exhibition of the Berlin-based artist Fakhondeh Shahroudi
The Goethe-Institut New York is pleased to present the first New York institutional solo-exhibition of the Berlin-based artist
Fakhondeh Shahroudi.
Farkhondeh Shahroudi: of weeping trees showcases new and older works ranging in media including drawing, video, sculpture, textiles, artist books, and more across nearly 30 years of Shahroudi's practice. Evoking and reframing colonial materials and motifs such as rubber and the so-called "Oriental" rug respectively, the title of this exhibition calls forth reoccurring themes present in the artist’s oeuvre such as identity, language, family, and psychology.
In her practice, Shahroudi inhabits the space between, around, and beyond language. Taking up the tradition of automatic writing, she inhabits inclusion through her process of painting her mother tongue Farsi with her dominant right hand, and distantiation of German, deliberately slowed down by writing with her left hand. Understanding all her work as three-dimensionally materialized poems, Shahroudi abstains from explicitly recounting the history of her migration from Iran to Germany in 1990, where she has lived ever since. Rather, memory, in her work, operates as a more subtle thread weaving between the political and a childlike coyness. Playfully integrating language constructions containing simultaneous elements of absurdist humor and moments of grief, Shahroudi invites us to come up with our own associations; akin to providing us with a tool – much like a tuning fork – that enables us to listen to the echoes of a multiple present.
Curated by Zachary B. Feldman.
Curatorial assistance by Nelya Rosa Ahmia & Olivia Al-Slaiman.
This exhibition concludes Shahroudi’s residency at the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in Brooklyn, and is kindly supported Körber Stiftung, the ISCP, and Norse Airlines.
A forthcoming book with Mousse Publishing featuring commissioned essays by
Dr. Jordan Amirkhani (Rivers Institute for Contemporary Art and Thought, New Orleans),
Billy Fowo (SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin), and
Dr. Zachary B. Feldman (Goethe-Insitut, New York) will be released in Fall 2024.
Opening Reception:
Thurs. May 16th from 6-8pm
Extended Opening Hours:
Fri & Sat. May 17th & 18th from 12-6pm
Typical Opening Hours:
Mon. - Thurs. from 10am-6pm through July 3
Farkhondeh Shahroudi (b. 1962, Tehran, Iran) has been living and working in Berlin since 2001. Shahroudi studied painting at the Alzahra University in Tehran until she was forced to seek political asylum in Germany in 1990, where she continued her studies in Art and Design at Dortmund University. Her work has been exhibited and housed at numerous galleries and museums, including Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), SAVVY Contemporary, The British Museum, and the Vehbi Koç Contemporary Art Foundation. She was the recipient of the 2017 Villa Romana Prize, 2022 Hannah Höch Förderpreis, and is the inaugural Exile Visual Arts Award for 2024, among other distinctions.
Back
