PARASTOU FOROUHAR
Written Room
23.05.2026 – 21.02.2027
A room where the walls and floor are covered in writing—lines, arcs, curves that flow dance-like across the surface. Parastou Forouhar’s (b. 1962) “Written Room” is a precisely crafted installation that generates a unique atmosphere.
WRITTEN ROOM PRESENTED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AUSTRIA
Parastou Forouhar is one of the most prominent voices in contemporary Iranian art. Her work unites her personal experiences as an exile with artistic expression that transcends geographical and cultural boundaries. Her works are characterized by emotional depth, political reflection, and aesthetic clarity.
Since 1995, the Iranian-German artist has realized various versions of her spatial installation “Written Room” around the world—now this impressive work will be shown in Austria for the first time. To create her work, she applies calligraphic characters of the Persian alphabet by hand onto the walls and floor of an exhibition space. The writing loses its function as a source of information and becomes a pictorial space that opens up questions and invites reflection. The characters are often borrowed from poems, letters, or political texts, but through excess, rhythmic repetition, or deliberate illegibility, they lose their function as carriers of information.
I don’t distinguish between political activism and art. The artistic strategies I develop flow into my activist activities, and vice versa.
WALLS FULL OF WORDS THAT DO NOT SPEAK
“Written Room” reflects Forouhar’s own experience: here, written characters become a profound symbol of the loss of language, fractured identities, and cultural alienation. The ground floor of the Landesgalerie Niederösterreich is thus transformed into a powerful, expansive artwork in black and white.
The installation creates a unique atmosphere in which otherness becomes visible and tangible. The writing permeates the space, creating openness and inviting encounter. Within this density of signs, new perspectives emerge, facilitating an exchange between viewers and the universal language of art.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Internationally acclaimed artist Parastou Forouhar was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1962. From 1984 to 1990, she studied art at the Academy of Fine Arts of the University of Tehran and continued her studies with postgraduate work at the Offenbach University of Art and Design. She has lived and worked in Germany since 1991.
From 2019 to 2024, she taught visual arts at the Mainz Academy of Art as a Gutenberg Research Fellow.
For her artistic work and her political commitment against oppression and violence, Parastou Forouhar was awarded the prestigious Gabriele Münter Prize in spring 2025.
Curator: Gerda Ridler