Shirazeh Houshiary
Encyclopedia
Shirazeh Houshiary is an Iran
ian installation art
ist and sculptor
. She is a former Turner Prize
nominee, and lives and works in London
.
She was identified with other young sculptors of her generation such as Richard Deacon and Anish Kapoor
, but her work was distinct from theirs in the strong Persian influence which it displayed, though sharing with Kapoor a spiritual concern. Her ideology draws on Sufi mystical doctrine and Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi
, a Persian mystic and poet from the 13th century.
She was a nominee for the 1994 Turner Prize
. In 2008, the St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London unveiled a commission by Shirazeh Houshiary and Pip Horne for the East Window. Houshiary's work is included in numerous public and private collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York and The Tate Collection, London. In 2005, Creative Time
commissioned Houshiary and Pip Horne for their Creative Time Art on the Plaza series where the monumental Breath tower was exhibited in New York City. Her work was also included in Feri Daftari's exhibition Without Boundary: Seventeen Ways of Looking at the Museum of Modern Art
in 2006 and the 17th Biennale of Sydney
in 2010.
In 2005 (Veil) and 2008 (Shroud), Houshiary worked in collaboration with Mark Hatchard
of Hotbox Studios and Hotbox Events
to create animations for gallery installations at the Lehmann Maupin Gallery in New York and the Lisson Gallery in London.
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian installation art
Installation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
ist and sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
. She is a former Turner Prize
Turner Prize
The Turner Prize, named after the painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist under the age of 50. Awarding the prize is organised by the Tate gallery and staged at Tate Britain. Since its beginnings in 1984 it has become the United Kingdom's most publicised...
nominee, and lives and works in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Life and work
Shirazeh Houshiary left her native country of Iran in 1973. She attended Chelsea School of Art, London (1976–9) and was a Cardiff College of Art junior fellow at (1979–80).She was identified with other young sculptors of her generation such as Richard Deacon and Anish Kapoor
Anish Kapoor
Anish Kapoor CBE RA is a British sculptor of Indian birth. Born in Mumbai , Kapoor has lived and worked in London since the early 1970s when he moved to study art, first at the Hornsey College of Art and later at the Chelsea School of Art and Design.He represented Britain in the XLIV Venice...
, but her work was distinct from theirs in the strong Persian influence which it displayed, though sharing with Kapoor a spiritual concern. Her ideology draws on Sufi mystical doctrine and Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī , also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī and popularly known as Mevlānā in Turkey and Mawlānā in Iran and Afghanistan but known to the English-speaking world simply as Rumi was a 13th-century Persian Muslim poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic...
, a Persian mystic and poet from the 13th century.
She was a nominee for the 1994 Turner Prize
Turner Prize
The Turner Prize, named after the painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist under the age of 50. Awarding the prize is organised by the Tate gallery and staged at Tate Britain. Since its beginnings in 1984 it has become the United Kingdom's most publicised...
. In 2008, the St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London unveiled a commission by Shirazeh Houshiary and Pip Horne for the East Window. Houshiary's work is included in numerous public and private collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York and The Tate Collection, London. In 2005, Creative Time
Creative Time
Creative Time is a New York-based nonprofit arts organization. It was founded in 1973 to support the creation of innovative, site-specific, socially engaged works in the public realm, especially in vacant spaces of historical and architectural interest...
commissioned Houshiary and Pip Horne for their Creative Time Art on the Plaza series where the monumental Breath tower was exhibited in New York City. Her work was also included in Feri Daftari's exhibition Without Boundary: Seventeen Ways of Looking at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in 2006 and the 17th Biennale of Sydney
Biennale of Sydney
The Biennale of Sydney is an international festival of contemporary art, held every two years in Sydney, Australia. It is the largest and best-attended contemporary visual arts event in the country...
in 2010.
In 2005 (Veil) and 2008 (Shroud), Houshiary worked in collaboration with Mark Hatchard
Mark Hatchard
Mark Hatchard is a director of the Hotbox Studios animation and design company and is involved with the contemporary arts and music festival group, Festival Republic, through Hotbox Studios' sister company Hotbox Events...
of Hotbox Studios and Hotbox Events
Hotbox Events
Hotbox Events is a company that recruits and manages staff and volunteers for UK festivals such as the Leeds Festival, Reading Festival, Latitude Festival and The Big Chill...
to create animations for gallery installations at the Lehmann Maupin Gallery in New York and the Lisson Gallery in London.