Ali Banisadr: The Alchemist is the first major U.S. museum survey of the Brooklyn-based, Iranian-born artist Ali Banisadr. Organized by the Katonah Museum of Art (KMA), 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.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue with critical essays by Dr. Gražina Subelytė, Associate Curator, Peggy Guggenheim Collection; Dr. Bill Sherman, Director, The Warburg Institute, University of London; and Michelle Yun Mapplethorpe, Director, Katonah Museum of Art. It will also feature a transcribed conversation with the artist and noted art historian Robert Storr, and a fully illustrated plate section.
Ali Banisadr: The Alchemistexhibition and publication are made possible with support from the Katherine C. and David E. Moore Exhibition Fund and The Director’s Circle of the Katonah Museum of Art: Paul Bird and Amy Parsons, Lisa Byala, Mike Davies, Isabelle Harnoncourt Feigen, Virginia L. Gold, Kirsti Kroener and Nicholas Kronfeld, Linda Nordberg, Yvonne S. Pollack, Rebecca Samberg, and Richard and Audrey Zinman. Additional support has been provided by the Berger Family Foundation, Tara and Jeffrey Coniaris, Padi and Jason Nazmiyal, Thaddaeus Ropac gallery, and the Ali Banisadr Exhibition Leadership Committee. In-kind support has been generously provided by Kasmin; Victoria Miro; Perrotin; Cristea Roberts Gallery, London; and Thaddaeus Ropac gallery.
In the Pollack Family Learning Center:
The Artist’s Laboratory
Come experiment and play in The Artist’s Laboratory at The Pollack Family Learning Center! Family visitors will experience an art-making space inspired by elements of magic, science, and wonder present in the artist Ali Banisadr’s work. Much like an artist, an alchemist seeks to change ordinary materials into something extraordinary. Ali Banisadr is deeply captivated by this idea, weaving it into the complex worlds he creates.
Dive deeply into the materials and processes in Ali Banisadr: The Alchemist by exploring unconventional painting tools and musical mark-making, experimenting with tracing layers of art history, and constructing sculptural creatures to add to our collaborative exhibition wall!
The Katonah Museum of Art is proud to be a grantee of ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with the support of County Executive George Latimer.
The Katonah Museum of Art’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
The Katonah Museum of Art is a non-collecting institution geared towards visual arts, located in Katonah, New York. The Museum presents changing exhibitions that cross a spectrum of artistic disciplines, cultures, and historical periods. Housed in an elegant building designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes, and accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the Katonah Museum of Art originates three to four major exhibitions annually.
With each exhibition, artists, curators, and other specialists present art through programs, lectures, and workshops designed for visitors of all ages. The Pollack Family Learning Center uses a visual and interactive environment that encourages children and their parents to participate in hands-on projects. The Katonah Museum also offers outdoor concerts, evening cocktail parties, international travels, and trips to other museums and private collections. An outdoor Sculpture Garden, shaded by towering pines, displays contemporary works.
From the beginning, the KMA was committed to presenting exceptional art from all cultures and time periods. The founders’ decision to be a non-collecting institution resulted in a dynamic and flexible exhibition program, which remains one of the most distinctive features of the Museum. The KMA offers lectures, films, workshops, concerts and other events for a general audience; and presents innovative and substantive programs for nearly 100 member schools and community organizations. The Museum's outreach programs for the local Latino immigrant population are at the forefront of community-based education programs.
Its exhibitions, events, and educational programs invite everyone to experience and reflect on the impact and transformative power of the visual arts.
The Katonah Museum of Art is proud to be a grantee of ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with the support of County Executive George Latimer.
The Katonah Museum of Art’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
