Saturday Nights

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Saturday Nights

2019
Drawings
Painting on cardboard
19 × 19 in. (48.26 × 48.26 cm)
Purchased with funds provided by Jaime Garza (M.2020.164)
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

In this painting, Atieh Sohrabi captures a familiar Saturday night scene of a woman lounging unselfconsciously. Moments in which ...
In this painting, Atieh Sohrabi captures a familiar Saturday night scene of a woman lounging unselfconsciously. Moments in which women can unaffectedly experience their bodies are few and far between: they are often encouraged to wear constraining undergarments, suck in their stomachs, and sit stiffly to hide any signs of “imperfection.” In this whimsical artwork, Sohrabi celebrates the simple pleasure of lying back and relaxing. While the woman’s reclining, topless pose is a subtle reference to an Orientalist odalisque, the framing of her legs, which creates a distance between her and the viewer, refashions her exposure to one that is wholly her own. Born in Iran, Sohrabi studied industrial and product design at the Azad University of Art and Architecture in Tehran. Since then, Sohrabi has illustrated a number of children’s books, and several award-winning magazines. She works as a graphic designer in New York.
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Bibliography

  • Komaroff, Linda, Stephanie Rouinfar, Sandra Williams, and Sarah Mostafa Ahmed. Women Defining Women in Contemporary Art of the Middle East and Beyond. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2023. https://archive.org/details/women-defining-women (accessed January 12, 2024).