Under the Sky, Above the Sea transforms the gallery with a new textile installation exploring ideas of home, familiarity, and a sense of place. Leila Seyedzadeh is an interdisciplinary artist who creates landscapes informed by views and memories of her home in Tehran. She began using fabric in her art in 2015, cutting and stitching it to construct what she calls textile paintings. Her work incorporates sewing, mending, and dying, skills she learned from her mother, with various upcycled fabrics arranged to resemble natural scenes with winding rivers, valleys, and mountains alluding to the Alborz Mountain range that surrounded her in Iran.
Into each stitch and piece of fabric Seyedzadeh weaves memories and stories about where she has been. Persian carpets and blanket-like rugs called jajims are central to the installation, reflecting a deep connection to Iranian craft traditions and extending the tactile experience as they recall the artist’s memories of walking on them barefoot at home. She is also drawn to Chador Namazes (prayer veils), commonly worn by Shia women, that often feature small floral patterns. Persian miniature paintings, particularly their attention to texture and color and their simultaneous perspective of two-dimensional and panoramic views, also inform the installation.
For Seyedzadeh, installations and textile paintings serve as a form of memory work, keeping her grounded no matter where she is. Through her re-creation of mountain scenery, she intends to foster a sense of safety and security and remind us of the beauty of nature. As visitors move around the gallery, they will see other new details and perspectives, essentially becoming part of its interior landscape.
Curatorial text by Jordan Horton
Image: Leila Seyedzadeh. Velvet River. 2025. Detail. Rope, silk, hand-dyed cloth, Persian rugs. Dimensions variable. Photography by Rachel Alban. Image courtesy of the artist
