Ali Banisadr: The Alchemist is the first major U.S. museum survey of the contemporary artist Ali Banisadr. This exhibition encompasses nearly twenty years of the artist’s singular practice, from 2006 to the present, across the mediums of painting, drawing, and printmaking. Sculpture, a new direction for the artist, will be presented for the first time.
Banisadr’s densely populated paintings are influenced by his experience of synesthesia, linking color and form. Drawing on childhood experiences of the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88) in his native Tehran, where explosions and other aural disturbances were commonplace, Banisadr painstakingly and intuitively builds complex compositions that exude a vitality at once turbulent and celebratory.
The exhibition reveals Banisadr’s artistic practice as a careful balancing act between chaos and composure, and abstraction and representation. His images display a dazzling mastery of art history, philosophy, and world events, offering a nuanced perspective of human nature. The works are rich with figurative illusions rooted in autobiographical narratives, sonic recollection, invented stories, world history, collective memory, and mythology. Banisadr creates complex, turbulent worlds with a multitude of references from across art history—including Abstract Expressionism, German Expressionism, Medieval Renaissance art, alchemical imagery, Mesopotamian antiquities, and Persian miniatures—as well as references to our own tempestuous times.
Video: Ali Banisadr: The Alchemist
Experience the visionary practice of artist Ali Banisadr in this compelling video journey. Hear about the forces that shape his creative process and how the ancient concepts of alchemy weave through his paintings, works on paper, and new sculptural works. Video courtesy of Kasmin, Victoria Miro, Perrotin, and Thaddaeus Ropac gallery. Created by Pushpin Films.
About Ali Banisadr
Born in Tehran, Iran in 1976, the artist grew up amidst the turmoil of the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88). In 1988, Banisadr left Iran with his family at the age of twelve, first reaching Turkey and then San Diego, California. While living in San Francisco as a young adult, he became involved with the local graffiti art community while studying psychology. He later moved to New York City where he earned a BFA at the School of Visual Arts (2005) and an MFA at the New York Academy of Art (2007). The artist currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Banisadr has been the subject of international solo museum exhibitions at the Museo Stefano Bardini and Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, (2021); Benaki Museum, Athens, (2020); Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, (2020); Gemäldegalerie, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, (2019); and the Het Noordbrabants Museum, Den Bosch, (2019).
His work has also been included in major group exhibitions including the Venice Biennale (2013) and Prague Biennale (2013). Banisadr’s work is included in significant public collections including the Benaki Museum, Athens; British Museum, London; Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Buffalo; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Het Noordbrabants Museum, Den Bosch; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Museum der Moderne, Salzburg; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia; and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT, among others.
April
Thursday, April 9 at 7:00 p.m. – Ali Banisadr: The Alchemist | MFA Member-Exclusive Preview
Saturday, April 11 at 9:00 a.m. – Exclusive Artist Tour | The Alchemist with Ali Banisadr
Saturday, April 11 at 11:00 a.m. – In Conversation | Ali Banisadr and Dr. Stanton Thomas
Sunday, April 12 at 1:00 p.m. – Spray Art Workshop | Hosted by MFA Teens
May
Thursday, May 7 at 6:00 p.m. – Book + Banisadr Book Club | War + Apocalypse
Wednesday, May 13 at 10:00 a.m. – Homeschool Hours at the MFA
Sunday, May 31 at 1:00 p.m. – Marly Music Presents the Rossini Club | Roses of Golestan
June
Thursday, June 4 at 6:00 p.m. – Book + Banisadr Book Club | Mythology + History
Sunday, June 21 at 2:00 p.m. – Language Tour Series | Russian-Speaking Tour with Natalie Velez featuring Ali Banisadr: The Alchemist
July
Thursday, July 2 at 6:00 p.m. – Book + Banisadr Book Club | Sound + Composition
Ali Banisadr: The Alchemist is organized by the Katonah Museum of Art
Curated by Michelle Yun Mapplethorpe, Director and Chief Curator, Katonah Museum of Art
GENEROUS SUPPORT PROVIDED BY ART BRIDGES
FUNDED IN PART BY THE CITY OF ST. PETERSBURG AND THE MARGARET ACHESON STUART SOCIETY
EXHIBITION SPONSORS
Mark Anderson and Keith Bucklew
Dotti and John Fischer
Shannon and Paul Pennock
Your partnership brings the visceral power of Ali Banisadr: The Alchemist to the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg. Reach out to development@mfastpete.org or call 727.896.2667 ext. 256 to learn more about exhibition sponsorship opportunities!
MEDIA PARTNER: WUSF: YOUR HOME FOR NPR / WSMR CLASSICAL
Images:
Ali Banisadr (b. 1976), These fragments I have shored against my ruins (detail), 2023, oil on linen, 86 x 180 in. Mohammed Afkhami Foundation. Photography by Genevieve Hanson. © Ali Banisadr
Ali Banisadr (b. 1976), Things Fall Apart (detail), 2007, oil on linen, 44 x 50 in. Collection of Jacob Miller. Photography by Jeffrey Sturges. © Ali Banisadr
Ali Banisadr (b. 1976), Queen of the Night (detail), 2022, oil on linen, 82 x 120 in. Private Collection. Photography by Genevieve Hanson. © Ali Banisadr