SZ’s WOMEN : Then & Now exhibit tells culturally rich stories of Persian culture through contemporary and classically-influenced pieces. Monir & Mehdi Ghanbeigy from Iran have created multimedia artwork together since 1970, combining Mehdi’s detailed work with Persian miniatures and painting, Monir’s background in ceramics and pottery, and their mutual love and appreciation for the history of Persian art.
Music, throughout its history, has been a mysterious language in expressing joy, love,suffering, and disarrays in our lives. What you are about to see is an open interpretation on evolution of music and music instruments (some of which including Harp, Qanun, Chaqana, Lyre, Tambourine, and Kamoncha are featured in these paintings ) invented in thousand years in Iran . Women have played key roles in this regard.
- Mehdi Ghanbeigy
Birds, Flowers, Woman
Birds sing while flying.
And I begin to sketch the rage of my loneliness.
Incapable of tolerating this feeling, my soul starts melting and drops down through my hands onto the canvas.
Hence, I allow my entire being to float on the roaring river of my feelings.
Mud! I recall now I used to make decorations and sculptures out of mud.
As a mother, as a woman, now that I have aged and feel every aspect of maturity, I feel other people’s sorrow and sadness. I Carry these feelings to every direction.
Their grieves.
Their sadness.
And their sufferings.
Evolving toward my necessity to conquer the tallest mountain, staying their hollering as loud as possible, southing and repeating the complain and the protest of mankind with the hope of getting an answer from somewhere.
Have I passed through this world with no scratch or painful memory on my soul? Never.
Yet I spread out the charm of happiness as a volcano into the space.
Smelling the grass.
Kissing the children.
Drawing and painting the flowers, especially the roses.
The birds and deliberately empty cages next to them.
I confess I am in love, though believe it or not human is the loneliest creature.
Human is the loneliest creature.
Monir
Seattle 12/7/22
Join us on Thursday, December 15, 2022, for another memorable & culturally enriching evening at the SZ Gallery!
Past Persian Garden Exhibits.
There are hidden truths in mythology about the past nations, their adventures, struggles, wars, victories, defeats, and love stories. This artwork is inspired by some of the most famous love stories in Persian literature about legendary lovers some of whom succeeded joining their loves and some didn’t.
In the cycle of destiny such is the way
That one is handed a cup of wine
And another a cup of bitter blood
The paintings by Mehdi Ghanbeigy showcased in SZ’s 2019 Persian Garden were open interpretations from the epic works of Hakim Ferdowsi and Hakim Nezami Ganjavi, two of the most influential Persian poets.
In their 2018 exhibition, their work greets us in the form of long scrolls of silhouetted women surrounded by calligraphy. Each painting is made of one idea with four elements: woman, flower, cage, and bird. The flower represents beauty and innocence whereas the bird represents freedom. But the meaning of Ghanbeigy’s work is even more profound. Monir explains that society puts innocents into cages, just like birds and woman. Cages are depicted as either chains at the feet of each woman or red dots, which act as pins holding women to the ground. This is a reminder to not ignore women, treat them with respect, and there will be peace in this world.
In Persian Garden 2017, Monir and Mehdi presented vibrant sculptures, decorative plates, and traditional Persian miniature, with a modern bent, enraptured the audience. Each sculpture, plate, panel, and vase had its own unique history due to their collaborative and intricate experimentation process .