Farhad Moshiri (1963-2024)

The Irony of Glitter.
Farhad Moshiri was the alchemist of Iranian Pop. He took the visual vocabulary of kitsch—sequins, glitter, gold—and turned it into a sharp critique of cultural displacement.

In Crying Donkey (2007), sorrow is rendered as spectacle. The animal’s tears are fake, stylized, and shimmering. Moshiri wraps a symbol of humility and suffering in a "candy wrapper" of luxury materials. It is a collision between traditional Persian storytelling and the superficiality of the global art market.

Why it matters: Following Moshiri’s passing in 2024, his seminal works are being re-evaluated as historical canons. This is a massive canvas (nearly 1.7 meters) from his prime "glitter period." It creates a powerful visual paradox: it demands to be looked at, while laughing at the act of looking.