A R M I T A R A A F A T
ARMITA RAAFAT, Untitled (Traces and Silences), 2023, Handmade paper, pigmented paper pulp, fabric, mesh, mirrors, and embroidered textile (khoos doozi), 15.50 x 12.50 in
A R M I T A R A A F A T | Traces and Silences
Armita Raafat constructs, sculpts, and collage contemporary materials with traditional craft techniques and Islamic architectural forms, to continue these practices and their meanings in our current context. Her sculptures, site-specific installations, and handmade paper works rearrange, reassemble, and recombine forms, materials, and crafts to write a new chapter of their story.
Her handmade paper pieces, incorporate khoos doozi, a traditional technique of textile embroidery done by women from the Iranian island of Qeshm, into her work. The craft was originally used to embellish head scarves, wedding garments, and other clothing using a technique passed down between women from generation to generation. This work is a source of income for some of the island’s women and allows them to help support their households. She works directly with six women who create new khoos doozi according to her designs. Then she embeds fragments of it in richly pigmented, handmade paper and layers it with paper pulp, mesh, fabric, and mirrors to create a new form of weaving and embroidering within the sheet. The layering and reflective materials create an illusion of more depth and give the paper a sculptural feeling.
A B O U T T H E A R T I S T
Armita Raafat is a New York-based sculptor and installation artist. Born in Chicago and raised in Iran, she earned a BFA from Al-Zahra University in Tehran and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has exhibited nationally and internationally including at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York, the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, the Noyes Museum of Art, New Jersey; Pavel Zoubok Gallery, New York; High Noon Gallery; Art in Buildings; New York and Florida; HORSEANDPONY Fine Arts, Berlin; and Al-Zahra University, Tehran. Raafat received the Peter S. Reed Foundation grant for Sculpture and a NYFA fellowship for Crafts/Sculpture. She has been in residence at LMCC Swing Space, AIM at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, Winter Workspace at Wave Hill, and Workspace Program at Dieu Donné. Her work has been written about in publications such as Art in America, the Brooklyn Rail, artcritical, and others. She currently has a studio with the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts in New York.