Inspired by a visit to the Shah Cheragh Shrine in Shiraz, Iran, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian (1922-2019) fused mathematical precision, spiritual symbolism and architectural references to develop her signature signature mirror mosaics. Collages represent a lesser-known aspect of this legendary artist’s practice. Farmanfarmaian began producing this series while living in exile in New York following the Iranian Revolution. It was sparked by a chance encounter during repairs to the terrace of her Fifth Avenue apartment, when she observed workers covering asphalt with netting. Struck by the beauty of the material, she asked for a piece and began experimenting with fragments of newspapers and magazines arranged on cardboard, overlaying the compositions with the mesh she had salvaged. This kind of mesh is visible in CG8 (1982), which sends butterflies drifting amid amorphous shapes rendered in hues of rose and dusky blue. 

*On view at Moderna Museet