[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”231″ gal_title=”Fahimeh Amiri”]
Springville resident Lisa Willey told her husband, “Neil, I’m going to Persia on Wednesday and it doesn’t require a passport.”
Willey didn’t have to take a plane or use a passport, but she was able to learn and experience Persian culture through the unique experience and narration of Persian artist Amiri.
The Springville Art Museum opened “Passages and Pathways,” featuring multiple artists showcasing their personal journeys through life. Amiri invited visitors to explore her work and attend a Q&A-style presentation about the significance and motivation behind her paintings.
Amiri began her art training in Tehran, Iran. She studied intricate details, practicing small brush strokes such as “curly-qs” repeatedly until they were perfect.
After her training in Tehran, Amiri moved to Boston and attended the Boston School of Fine Arts. Amiri’s exhibit in the Springville Art Museum combines social, religious and historical points of contention. According to Amiri, “Sometimes the winner and the losers tell a different story.”
Amiri has several themes in her pieces. One installment is a group of paintings depicting women confined by their cultural roles. Amiri contrasts these paintings with busts of ancient queens, pointing out the significant loss in power and authority among women.
Amiri has lived in Salt Lake City for 10 years. She moved to Salt Lake City after hearing that the layout of the land was similar to Tehran’s layout. Amiri doesn’t visit her family or birthplace because she said she can’t “tolerate the chaos of Tehran.”
The exhibit was a collaboration between the artist and the museum board of education. “She’s so unique in Utah art because of her upbringing of art in Tehran and then her western influence,” said Jessica Weiss, head of education. “This event gives us a chance to add context to her work.”
The event included live music and refreshments native to Tehran. “I think this was a very creative idea for the Springville Museum,” said Neil Willey, a BYU alumni who attended the event
Amiri’s artwork will be exhibited until November 1 and opened mid-September.
