Stacy Arezou Mehrfar‘s “The Moon Belongs to Everyone,” opened at Filter Space in Chicago on On January 13. Curated by Allie Haeusslein and on view through February 24. The series of photographs and eight-channel video installation focus on the universal journey of immigration and diaspora with great sensitivity and complexity. Along with a monograph by GOST Books published in 2021, it showcases Mehrfar’s an ever-intuitive eye for the tones, textures, and expressions that evoke the human experience.
Installation view of Stacy Arezou Mehrfar’s “The Moon Belongs to Everyone,” courtesy of the artist and Filter Space, Chicago.
As a first-generation Iranian-American, Mehrfar spent her formative years on Long Island. At the age of 30 she moved to Australia, returning to New York a decade later. The artist shares her very personal experience identifying and reconciling with multiple cultures and environments through poignant still lifes, colorfields, portraits, and landscapes that elicit a depth of emotion rather than a particular time or place.
Stacy Arezou Mehrfar, “A Painted Garden #11,” 2014, 12 x 18 in., archival pigment print; courtesy of the artist and Filter Space, Chicago.
Stacy Arezou Mehrfar, “A Place in the Sun #82,” 2014, 30 x 45 in., archival pigment print; courtesy of the artist and Filter Space, Chicago.
A hypnotic snow and ice-covered mountainside, inquiring human faces, and doves soaring beside an ascending airplane are both familiar and foreign in varying shades of black, gray, and white. A beam of light on tangerine-colored curtains, a hand holding freshly cut orange peels, and a smashed pomegranate capture the sights, sounds, and scents from a collective nostalgia and search for belonging and meaning. The sweeping, physical exhibition itself parallels sentiments of unrest, acceptance, and anticipation in the inspired works. Guidance by sunlight and moonlight underpin the vibrant show with a nurturing, enigmatic celestial embrace.
On February 24, Mehrfar will be in Chicago for a Poetry Reading and closing reception of “The Moon Belongs to Everyone.” For more information, visit HERE.
Stacy Arezou Mehrfar, “Memory #21,” 2019, 45 x 30 in., archival pigment print; courtesy of the artist and Filter Space, Chicago.
Stacy Arezou Mehrfar, “Perpetual Motion #13,” 2018, 30 x 20 in., archival pigment print; courtesy of the artist and Filter Space, Chicago.
