Palo Gallery is pleased to announce Opera Rose,the debut solo exhibition of Iranian artist Fa Razavi in the United States, in collaboration with the London-based curatorial duo Pia Zeitzen and Sasha Shevchenko of Kollektiv Collective. In this new body of work, Razavi’s triptych and seven large-scale paintings depict instances of revolution, whether on the battlefield, by the kitchen sink, or at the artist’s easel. Razavi’s visual language draws on the ways in which politics and history linger in the subconscious. A zine will be published jointly with the exhibition with supplementary text by Kollektiv Collective.
Razavi’s skillfully crafted compositions capture the grandeur of the Renaissance and the drama of the Baroque, creating scenes that feel both historical and prophetic. Informed by the long history of the global female resistance movement, her paintings create spaces in which solidarity prevails over oppression. In the artwork Opera Rose, the artist portrays intersex bodies that attest to their right to belong. Two hands extend toward each other in a moment of unadorned compassion, with the imminent spark of their touch conveying an anticipation for a brighter future. The composition conveys that the simple act of existing in space is already a form of resistance and revolution, both in taking to the streets and within the privacy of domestic space.
The discovery of Razavi’s layers prompts the viewer to consider the lives of her heroic, fictional figures and the imagined revolutions they participated in. Color bathes the figures in a sacred urgency, illustrating acts of reclamation in their home, history, body, and voice. While symbolizing faith and the promise of equality, the color green also signifies resistance – whether to an oppressive regime, hegemonies, or broken promises. In Razavi’s dreamland, the wash of color strips the proposed fantasy, exposing the distress and uneasiness beneath each parable. Amidst uniformity, the green encounters but one anomaly: a rebellion amongst conformity. Fate becomes obscured in a colorful mist, and the epic tale begins in the quotidian quiet.
The intimate, joyous gatherings of women whilst in their private spaces stands in contrast to the violence of gender segregation in and outside the home. The Last Train Home depicts the contemporary Iranian landscape and references various forms of resistance, such as a woman dancing with a flag and a menstrual pad covering a CCTV camera. In September 2022, following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in Iranian police custody, everyday objects, such as menstrual pads, became symbols of an uprising, being used to cover surveillance cameras in public spaces, including train stations.
Behind a monochromatic veil, Razavi’s layers of paint offer intimate glimpses into the lives of her painted heroes. Yet with the final layer of a single color acting as protection and enforcing a respectful distance, Razavi refrains from providing explanations.In the glimpses of her personal history – childhood memories of evenings surrounded by the women in her family, listening to their wisdom and laughter – a form of liberation is already here. The artist invites thoughtful interaction with her works by imagining spaces that are safe for women to be free—in the privacy of the artist’s memories, the intimacy of the home, and the courage to imagine a different future.
Press release from Palo Gallery
Image: Fa Razavi. Mothers “Victory” battle scene (Snakes and ladders). 2024. Oil on canvas. 180 x 250 cm. Image courtesy of the artist and Palo Gallery
