Contemporary Middle Eastern female artist Afsoon is known for her stunning "Urban art meets Street art" aesthetic found in her iconic 'Fairytale Icons' Series of mixed media prints of the world's most celebrated cultural icons. "Muhammed Ali" (2010) is a colorful mixed media work that features an immediately recognizable portrait of American boxer Muhammed Ali. Afsoon layers this black and white portrait with color-infused references to the celebrity boxer's career and conversion to Islam with a repeated image of defensive fighting position and a religious icon, patterned as a wallpaper-like backdrop as well as repeated butterflies and bees in the collage that reference Ali's famous quote that when he boxes he "floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee". This work measures 16.55 x 23.23 inches, is edition 7 of 8, and is in excellent condition.
"After spending my childhood in Iran and late teens and early twenties in San Francisco, I settled in London. My nomadic life is reflected in my work where East merges with West and the result is at once familiar and foreign. I combine different techniques such as linocut, photography, collage and etching. The result is a rich yet often playful and humorous tableau in which the audience is able to engage and interpret in its own way." -Afsoon.
Born in Iran in 1961, Afsoon moved to the United States to finish high school and attend Fresno State University, where she earned her BA in media and communication in 1984. After settling in London, Afsoon formally studied printmaking in 2002. She began to experiment with new techniques, drawing on her studies as well as her travels for inspiration, combining various mediums and fusing text and image together to create, what she refers to as "a rich yet often playful and humorous tableau". Afsoon's work is held in the permanent collections of The British Museum, London, England and The Zoroastrian Institute, Paris, France. Her work has been exhibited throughout the world, including Osborne Samuel Gallery, London, England; Amelia Johnson Contemporary Art Gallery, Hong Kong, China; and Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller (LTMH) Gallery, New York, NY.
