Katonha Museum of Art presents ‘Ali Banisadr: The Alchemist’

‘These fragments I have shored against my ruins,’ (2023), oil on linen by Ali Banisadr, one of the Iranian-born artist’s works on display at the Katonah Museum of Art. JASON MANDELLA PHOTO

The Katonah Museum of Art is presenting “Ali Banisadr: The Alchemist,” the first major U.S. museum survey of the Brooklyn-based Iranian-born artist, Ali Banisadr. 

Curated by Michelle Yun Mapplethorpe, director and chief curator of the KMA, the exhibition encompasses nearly 20 years of the artist’s singular practice, from 2006 to the present, across the mediums of painting, drawing and printmaking. 

A group of sculptures, a new direction for the artist, has been created for the KMA and is presented to the public for the first time. The exhibition will be on view through June 29.

The museum said Banisadr’s biographical history growing up amidst revolution and political unrest in Iran, his emigration to the U.S., and wide-ranging artistic influences exemplify the shifting definition of what it means to be an “American artist” today.

“The personal and artistic narratives across his oeuvre, distilled through a dazzling mastery of art history, philosophy, and world events, offer a nuanced perspective on human nature,” KMA said in a release. “Banisadr is a creator of worlds — intuitively and painstakingly constructed — that exude a vitality at once turbulent and revelatory. These microcosms are the culmination of a careful balancing act between chaos and composure, abstraction and representation. Expansive compositions are rich with figurative allusions, sonic recollection filtered through the artist’s synesthesia, invented stories, world history, collective memory, and mythology. The works’ syncopated rhythms echo a multitude of references across the history of art — including Mesopotamian antiquities, alchemical imagery, Persian miniatures, medieval and Renaissance art, Surrealism, German Expressionism, and Abstract Expressionism — as a bellwether of our own tempestuous times.” 

KMS said that by illuminating the beauty, technical mastery, and cultural acuity of Banisadr’s vision, “Ali Banisadr: The Alchemist” aims to establish the artist’s role as a leading cultural scribe and a resonant voice in contemporary art.”

“Ali Banisadr: The Alchemist”’ is a powerful reflection of the KMA’s dedication to presenting thought-provoking and transformative art. The KMA is honored to have organized this milestone exhibition championing one of the rising stars of our time,” Mapplethorpe said.