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The Institute of Arab and Islamic Arts (IAIA) unveiled a site-specific facade installation on the storefront of its new location at 22 Christopher Street. 

The facade, called “For The Revisionist,” was designed by Brooklyn-based sculptor Pooneh Maghazehe. It is constructed from a series of “cut-out” aluminum panels that wrap around the front of the building like a textile. Using this form, Maghazehe is referencing the history of 22 Christopher Street, which was once a working carriage house owned by a family of blacksmiths. The facade features at its center the racehorse, Sea Biscuit, encircled by a horseshoe to symbolize the building’s history as well as to wish IAIA good fortune at its new home. At night, the facade is backlit by red LED lights to reveal its pattern as shadows. The shapes, enhanced by the material during the day and lights during the night, reads as a kind of movement that also echo sacred geometries which adorn and orient architecture of the Islamic Worlds.

Maghazehe’s statement on “For The Revisionist” includes the additional intention for the facade as a signifier of good fortune: “The inaugural opening [November 3, 2022] of The Institute of Arab and Islamic Art marked the 56th day of protests that have swept through Iran. Let this wish for the prosperity of IAIA extend to the people of Iran and the will to sacrifice in the name of life and freedom. زن زندگی آزادی”

Pooneh Maghazehe has exhibited her work internationally, including recent solo exhibitions, “Middleman” at Essex Flowers; “Half-Life” at KinoSaito Art Center in Verplanck, NY; and “2for1” at Kathryn Brennan Gallery in New York, NY. She has been featured in reviews for Artforum, BmoreArt, Contemporary Practices, and Magazine 1. Maghazehe received an MFA from Columbia University in 2011.
 

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