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Author: haafshani

HOPE TREE

Posted on By haafshani

Hope Tree is an ongoing body of work that Afshani returns to across different periods of her life, particularly during … MoreHOPE TREE

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The closest I’ve ever felt to winning the lottery

The closest I’ve ever felt to winning the lottery was when I saw that extra line on the pregnancy test.

And now, as you scream,
“مامان، من اینجام”
“I’m here, Mama,”

I feel it all over again.

My sweetest win.

#mybaby

I think mountains awaken something inside of me. L

I think mountains awaken something inside of me. Living in a city and seeing a mountain far in the distance changes the way I experience everyday life. It makes me feel connected to something bigger, older, stronger.

There is a mountain in Iran called Mount Damavand. It is part of the Alborz mountain range in the north of Iran. If the weather is good, you can see Damavand from almost anywhere in Tehran. It sits there — tall, strong, quiet — looking over us for thousands of years.

There are so many stories about Damavand, about how heroic that place has been, and how somehow many important changes toward something better for the people of Iran always begin from there. I have always loved those stories, and I have always loved that mountain.

Painting Damavand is a great pleasure for me. It brings up so many emotions. Sometimes I even get tears in my eyes while painting it.

This is a work in progress video from the studio 🤍

#Damavand #iranstories #workinprogress

Creating is scary! One of the strangest and most

Creating is scary!

One of the strangest and most beautiful things about being an artist is that you constantly put yourself in situations where you have to be brave.

Sometimes you spend hours, days, or months building something, and then suddenly you feel the need to change it completely. To risk ruining it. To try an idea that might fail. And depending on the material, sometimes there’s no way back.

But I think that’s part of why art feels so alive to me. It asks for courage over and over again. To let go, to trust instinct, to destroy, to rebuild, to not hold too tightly to what already exists.

I made this body of work in the middle of chaos.

I made this body of work in the middle of chaos.

Over the past six months, I’ve been building this new series while caring for baby Elio — between breastfeeding, holding him, comforting him, and returning to the studio whenever I could. What emerged from this period became Randomness / Architecture of Resilience: a reflection on change, uncertainty, motherhood, and our attempt to create meaning within unpredictable forces.

Tomorrow my studio at Mana Contemporary will be open from 12–6 PM, and I would truly love for you to come experience the work in person. Your presence, conversations, reflections, and support mean so much 🤍
Studio 348

Motherhood. A quiet opening into endless possibil

Motherhood.

A quiet opening into endless possibilities .
A soft unraveling of the self.

It makes me vulnerable in ways I never knew—
so vulnerable that I have to hold tightly to the present moment,
or else be carried away by the endless noise of the mind.

And suddenly, a forgotten joy returns.
A joy I had not felt since childhood.

The smallest moments begin to glow with meaning:
a look, a sound, a tiny hand, the light of an ordinary afternoon.
Things too simple to describe become unbearably precious.

I move through the world again
like a child seeing everything for the first time.

And time—
time no longer stands still.
It rushes past me,
as though it had been asleep for centuries before motherhood awakened it.

Sometimes I wish I could pause it all—
stretch these fleeting moments into something endless,
even among the exhaustion, the chaos, the nonstop rhythm of care.

Thank you for bringing me back to wonder.

#mothersdaypost

I’m happy to share that I have a piece included in

I’m happy to share that I have a piece included in Riot of Spring at 14C Art Fair in Jersey City. The opening is tonight, with more events happening throughout the weekend, including Sunday.

The work I’m showing comes from my ongoing thoughts around randomness, uncertainty, and the way we move through life trying to make meaning from unexpected events. Sometimes it feels like randomness is the stronger force — shaping us in ways we cannot fully control. Yet through attention, memory, and care, we continue creating narratives and connections around what feels important, beautiful, painful, or worthy of being seen.

For me, making art is part of that dialogue. A way of responding to uncertainty and giving shape to experiences that otherwise feel impossible to hold onto.

If you’re nearby, I’d love for you to stop by. 🌱

#RiotOfSpring #JerseyCityArts #ContemporaryArt #InstallationArt MixedMediaArt #motherhood

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mayhem-14c-mothers-day-performances-open-studios-tickets-1985594534704

I’m really grateful to share that my work is featu

I’m really grateful to share that my work is featured in A View From the Easel #334 on Hyperallergic.

This piece reflects a rhythm that has become very real in my life lately—moving between the studio and motherhood, working in fragments, returning, layering, letting things unfold. The interruptions, the pauses, the unpredictability… they’ve slowly become part of how I see and build the work.

Thank you to everyone who continues to support and see what I’m doing—it truly means a lot 🤍

🔗 link in bio

#hyperallergic #contemporaryart #paintingprocess #artistmother studiopractice mixedmedia layering immigrantartist womenartists artandlife jerseycityartists manacontemporary

Grateful to have been part of Threads: Shared Pers

Grateful to have been part of Threads: Shared Perspectives from Iran and the Middle East, a powerful exhibition bringing together voices across histories, geographies, and lived experiences.

It meant a lot to present my work alongside such thoughtful artists, and to be in dialogue with their practices within this shared space.

The exhibition was recently featured in The Record (North Jersey), and I’m honored that my work was included in the article.

Thank you to Andrea for the thoughtful curation, and to Mariam Masoud and the Middle Eastern Arts Collective for making this exhibition possible. It was also a pleasure to see such strong community engagement throughout—including a visit from the Mayor of Paterson.

Looking forward to staying connected with this community 🌿

#ThreadsExhibition #MiddleEasternArt #IranianArtist #ContemporaryArt #WomenArtists DiasporaArt NJArts PatersonNJ ArtistCommunity ArtExhibition

Last night’s opening of The Flat Files at Mana Con

Last night’s opening of The Flat Files at Mana Contemporary felt quietly powerful ✨

So grateful to be part of this group show and to share works from my ongoing exploration of resilience, architecture, and the unpredictability of form. These pieces carry fragments of time, movement, and memory—layers that continue to unfold with each viewing.

Thank you to everyone who came, spent time with the work, and shared conversations. And to the artists in this show—it’s an honor to be alongside you 🤍

—

#ManaContemporary #FlatFiles #ArtOpening #JerseyCityArt #ContemporaryArt ArtistLife VisualArt AbstractArt LayeredArt ArtExhibition ArtCommunity NYCArtists WomenArtists ImmigrantArtist ArtAndArchitecture

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