"Cross-Cultural Expressions"
April 20 through May 25, 2002
Opening reception : Saturday, April 20, 2-5pm
Organized by
Center for Iranian
Modern Arts, (CIMA) New York, "Cross-Cultural
Expressions" features four talented Iranian-American
artists-- Zahra Farmanfarmaian, Amir Fallah, Roshan Houshmand,
and Reza Kassai -- whose work is focused on issues of hybridity,
transglobal identity and multiculturalism.
Zahra Farmanfarmaian
creates mixed-media projects designed as three-dimensional
travelogues. Each piece of work is a record of the artist's
site-specific experiences and interactions. Through the
use of locally available resources and culturally familiar
materials, her experiences are depicted in what becomes
a journal or travelogue.
Amir Fallah produces
works influenced by the narrative power of comic books and
characterized by underlying humorous commentary. Gated suburban
communities, strip malls, graffiti-like text phonetically
sounded out in Farsi, Abstract Expressionism, Middle Eastern
patterns, logo designs, and Islamic architecture are combined
together in images that leave traces of a story without
revealing the end.
Roshan Houshmand
collects samples of real life; real objects such as flowers,
strips of fabric, postcards and maps ... remnants with which
to reconstruct, in plastic form, the memory, the poetry
and the spirit of her reality. Collecting and reconstructing
layer upon layer of fabric, texture, color, image, object,
and memory, her work becomes a poetic response to life.
Reza Kassai's whimsical and humorous paintings
depict a bridge between the two dynamic cultures that have
influenced him. Kassai's "Random Thoughts" is
an ongoing project that takes different directions with
the flow of time. His work has a childlike whimsy and flair
which suggest comments, opinions, and the use of words in
several languages.
M.Y. Art Prospects
Subway: 28th St. (1, 9, N, R) and 34th St. (B, D, F, N,
R, Q, S, W)
Tel. (212) 268 7132 Fax. (212) 268 7147
