Reoriented
Past exhibition
Press release
MEY is pleased to present Reoriented, a group show featuring work by Maryam Amirvaghefi, Mehdi Mirbagheri, Reihaneh Hosseini, Zeynab Movahed, Aryana Minai, Sanam Sayehafkan, Fatemeh Kazemi, Shany Dvora, Phillip Neman and Kaitlin Banafsheha. Presenting work by ten artists of Iranian origin spanning across countries and generations, this exhibition seeks to demonstrate the range with which contemporary Iranian artists are extrapolating their layered identities.
Reoriented is a nod to and rejection of orientalism, a concept that has long been used in discourses surrounding Iranian art. The term refers to a style of imagining, marginalizing, and controlling an imagined East. The works in Reoriented individually and collectively reject the stereotypical markers of exotification perpetuated by orientalism, thereby generating new perspectives on the themes presented and reorienting art history.
Ranging from painting to print to mixed media, the included artworks explore themes such as day-to-day life in Iran, migration, diasporic identity, generational trauma, gender inequity, and appropriation. This exhibition is consciously occurring in conjunction with the contemporary revolution taking place in Iran. Zan, Zendegi, Azadi. Woman, Life, Freedom.
Works
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Zeynab MovahedFrom the Unstable conditions Series, 2021Oil on cavas59 x 51.2
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Zeynab MovahedFrom the Unstable Conditions Series (Untitled), 2021Oil on canvas31.5 x 31.5
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Zeynab MovahedUntitled (Unstable Conditions Series)Oil on canvas59 x 51.2 in
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Maryam AmirvaghefiIran Bans Bodybuilding for Women, 2022Mixed media on paper (framed)63.5 x 48.75 in
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Maryam AmirvaghefiThey Showered Me with Flowers, 2022Mixed media on paper48.5 x 50 in
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Reihaneh HosseiniNO, 2023Oil on canvas20 x 20
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Aryana MinaiGrowing Portal I, 2023Dyed handmade paper mounted on panel21 x 17 in
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Aryana MinaiGrowing Portal II, 2023Dyed handmade paper mounted on panel21 x 17 in
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Sanam SayehafkanBefore Us, 2022Oil on canvas59 x 79
Installation Views