Sonia Balassanian
Sonia Balassanian by Omar Kholeif is a comprehensive monograph published by MIT Press on March 28, 2023. This 96-page book presents a detailed exploration of the life and work of Iranian American artist Sonia Balassanian, who has a rich heritage of Armenian descent. The narrative travels from the serene monasteries of rural Armenia to the prestigious exhibition halls of MoMA, offering insights into Balassanian’s multidisciplinary practice that encompasses painting, poetry, photography, video, installation, performance, and drawing.
Readers will find a deeply personal portrait that intertwines poetry, memoir, and historical anecdotes, tracing the evolution of Balassanian’s artistic journey over more than five decades. The book highlights her vibrant, large-scale abstract paintings and the political dimensions of her work, particularly following the Iranian Revolution. Notable projects such as *Hostages: A Diary* and *Cauterized Literature* are discussed, reflecting her engagement with themes of art, history, and politics. This edition serves as an essential resource for those interested in the intersections of art and activism, as well as the contributions of women artists in contemporary discourse.
Official synopsis Publisher
Travel from the monasteries of rural Armenia to the exhibition halls of MoMA in the first comprehensive monograph of Iranian American artist Sonia Balassanian.
In this deeply personal portrait of Sonia Balassanian (b. 1942, Arak), an Iranian American artist of Armenian descent, author Dr. Omar Kholeif weaves together poetry, memoir, and historical anecdote to trace the contours of Balassanian’s world.
With a career spanning more than five decades, Balassanian is known for her multidisciplinary, politically charged practice that spans painting, poetry, photography, video, installation, performance, and drawing. At the heart of her corpus are colorful, large-scale, lyrically abstract paintings that she began in the 1960s. In the 1980s, after she had moved to New York, her work took a political turn following the Iranian Revolution. Balassanian drew newfound attention for Hostages: A Diary (1980), an installation of drawings that mapped the experience of following the Iran hostage crisis from the United States, and for Cauterized Literature (1987), a mixed-media series of burnt books mounted on canvas that comments on censorship in Iran.
Balassanian lives and works between New York and Armenia. This is the first comprehensive monograph of her art and life.
Published by Sternberg Press in collaboration with artPost21
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