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Artist/Maker
Asad Faulwell
(American, born 1982)
Date2022
MediumAcrylic, pins and photo collage on canvas
DimensionsOverall: 40 × 30 in. (101.6 × 76.2 cm)
Credit LinePurchase, William G. Roehrick '34 Art Acquisition and Preservation Fund
Object number2022.7
On view
DescriptionAsad Faulwell’s intricate, colorful, and highly detailed Artifice brings together Iranian mythological and historical figures and imbeds them into a complex pattern reminiscent of those seen on Persian rugs or Islamic textiles and ceramics. The work features a large, masked king-like central figure who is constructed from “fragments of history,” with a masked queen, or priestess, behind. A close viewing reveals Artifice’s surface to be studded, not just with pins, but with photographic images of historical leaders and other individuals, alongside painted figures and animal forms, many of whom are drawn from Iran’s ancient history.
Above the central figure’s crown is the beast-like head of Angra Mainyu or Ahriman, the destructive spirit of Zoroastrianism, the pre-Islamic religion of Iran. The head is visually similar to that of lions depicted attacking bulls in relief sculptures from the ancient Achaemenid city of Persepolis. An inverted winged figure of Anāhiti, the ancient Iranian goddess of royalty, war, and fertility, who may have originated in Mesopotamian culture and was incorporated into Zoroastrianism, can be seen to the left of Angra Mainyu. Another lion based on an Assyrian carving appears at the bottom of the painting, while the bird on its back is drawn from a Persian miniature painting that the artist particularly admired.
Faulwell was born in Idaho to a family who left Iran due to the upheavals that afflicted the country during the mid- to late twentieth century, which the artist references through small photographs—inspired by Persian miniatures—of figures such as Mohammad Reza Shah and Ayatollah Khomeini. In addition, Faulwell highlights the personal impact of global events by including photographs of his great uncle Javad Saeed, the last head of Iran’s parliament under the Shah. The artist had family members on both sides of the political divide, some of whom were imprisoned, tortured, and executed for their loyalties and beliefs.
Collections
Additional Details
Exhibition History
2024-2025
Clinton, NY. The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College. "Menagerie: Animals in Art from the Wellin Museum," September 7, 2024 –June 8, 2025 (no cat.).
Clinton, NY. The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College. "Menagerie: Animals in Art from the Wellin Museum," September 7, 2024 –June 8, 2025 (no cat.).
Provenance
2022: Hamilton College (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art), by purchase from the artist.
Date: mid-16th century
Medium: Double-sided watercolor, ink, and gold leaf on paper
Object number: 1986.29.1a-b
Unknown artist, Chinese
Date: c. 618-907 CE
Medium: Red clay with remnants of pigment
Object number: 1994.58
Firelei Báez
Date: 2013
Medium: Pigmented abaca, cotton, and linen on abaca base sheet with radiograph opaque ink
Object number: 2016.7
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: c. 350-320 BCE
Medium: Polychrome terracotta with slip and pigment
Object number: 1929.30
Unknown artist, Roman (Ancient)
Date: c. 4th century CE
Medium: Blown glass with trailing
Object number: 1929.107
Unknown artist, Roman (Ancient)
Date: c. 4th-5th century CE
Medium: Blown glass with trailing
Object number: 1929.116
Jamea Richmond-Edwards
Date: 2018
Medium: Pigment print with silkscreen diamond dust and gold foil
Object number: 2020.1