Assar Art Gallery presents If Like the Lord, I Had Control Over the Firmament..., the exhibition of the most recent works by Maryam Abedi. Like her earlier body of work, Abedi’s recent pieces are a combination of abstract motifs with geometric structures inspired by Persian architecture that are all shaped from interwoven warps and wefts embellished by painterly touches.

As described by critic Kianoush Motaghedi, “Maryam Abedi is a contemporary artist who seeks to question the classical frameworks of compositions on canvas and the use of paint and material in paintings by the use of weaving techniques and strips of cut-up canvas pieces. In her works, the cut-up pieces are arranged in beautiful and orderly compositions, creating geometric forms that imply a sense of rhythm.

“The structure in the layers which have come together in her pieces make references to architectural forms and traditional staircases of Ziggurats and the brickworks of the domes in Islamic mosques, and present an abstract view of these forms to the viewer. What makes the work of Abedi stand out in contemporary art is her direct and hidden allusions to the idea of order in the cycle of life and geometric structures that can be clearly traced in nature, transformed by the artist into cipher-like symbols.”

Maryam Abedi (b. 1986, Tehran, Iran) is a graduate of Museum Studies (MA, Tehran University of Art), Painting (MFA, New Academy of Art), and Graphic Design (BA, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tehran). If Like the Lord, I Had Control Over the Firmament... is her fourth solo exhibition in Tehran, and her first show at Assar Art Gallery.