Door

The London-based artist Shirazeh Houshiary fuses in her scuptures and her paintings her Persian cultural heritage with the Western aesthetic language. Her paintings, of which the present work is a large and outstanding example, are delicate compositions through which the artist tempts to move beyond the pure materiality of the canvas to attain a state of spiritual transcendence. Inspired by the poetry and philosophy of the thirteen-century Persian mystic poet Jalal al-Din Rumi, father of Sufism, Houshiary uses the canvas to express through subtle movements of the brush and an almost monochromatic palette her universal approach to art. The artist often lays the canvas on the floor, a process reminiscent of the gestural painting of the New York school, yet simultaneously her meticulousness recalls that of Persian miniature paintings. The overall result is a serene and intimate abstract composition, which stands between form and formlessness.
The present work executed in 2008 is the largest work on canvas by Shirazeh Houshiary to ever appear at auction. Through an elegant and subtle composition, it surpasses all superficial boundaries and allows both the artist and the viewer to reach a meditative state.
Shirazeh Houshiary's work is featured in numerous public and private collections around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Tate Collection, London. She was shortlisted for the 1994 Turner Prize, was commissioned for several major public site-specific installations and is undoubtedly one the most acclaimed Iranian-origin artists today.