The Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill presents “Shirin Neshat: Born of Fire.” The exhibit will run from April 20 to September 1.
This exhibition marks the artist’s first museum exhibition in the New York area in two decades. It offers a non-linear survey of Neshat’s artistic development, presenting focused installations of four significant bodies of work. These range from her first major photographic works, “Women of Allah” (1993–97), images inspired by women’s involvement in the Islamic Revolution and Iran-Iraq War, to “The Book of Kings” (2012), a portrait series that calls on the tradition of Persian epic poetry to address the Arab Spring protest movement. The exhibition will also include more recent projects that present Neshat’s surreal film and video works alongside still photographs, including “Land of Dreams” (2019), in which the artist turns her attention to exploring American culture from the perspective of an Iranian artist in exile, and “The Fury” (2022–3), addressing sexual exploitation of female political prisoners.
Though distinct, all four bodies of work are connected by motifs of female empowerment, political resistance, and displacement. Presented together, they reveal how these key themes have evolved throughout Neshat’s artistic journey. The exhibition also features a gallery dedicated to her private collection of work by fellow artists, from friends such as Marina Abramović and Robert Longo to artists based in the Middle East, revealing Neshat’s inspirations and her championship of lesser-known peers, especially from cultures where censorship impedes free expression.
“Shirin Neshat: Born of Fire” is organized by Corinne Erni, Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Chief Curator, Art and Education, with Scout Hutchinson, Associate Curator of Exhibitions.