The Denver Art Museum Acquires Work By Hangama Amiri

We're thrilled to announce the placement of Hangama Amiri's Still-Life with Jewelry Boxes and Red Roses from her summer 2022 exhibition with the gallery, Henna Night/ Shabe Kheena, into the Denver Art Museum's permanent collection! 

 

Amiri's painterly approach to textiles explores how everyday objects are imbued with cultural memory. With a particular focus on the historical and contemporary conditions of women in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, she highlights how the restriction of their presence and representation in public spaces contrasts with private spaces in which they can commune, celebrate, and engage in the exchange of ritual and experiential knowledge.

 

Still-Life with Jewelry Boxes and Red Roses depicts a table set with rich textiles upon which sits gold jewelry, including wedding rings. A reminder of the commonplace nature of arranged marriages under Taliban rule—and the elaborate visual culture surrounding them—this still-life is far from frozen in time. Instead, it communicates the ritual of marriage preparations generations of women have undergone and the continuation of those traditions as this bride transitions from the domestic space of her childhood to the one of her adulthood.

 

Hyonjeong (HJ) Kim Han, the Dr. Joseph de Heer Curator of Asian Art at the Denver Art Museum, described the acquisition committee's reaction to the piece in a recent profile of Amiri by The New York Times, "People started sharing stories. People talked about things in their own families, the arranged marriages of their parents and grandparents. They were excited that it would be relevant for viewers.”