Artists in Conversation: Ali Banisadr and Michelle Yun Mapplethorpe

March 16 2025 12:00pm - 1:00pm

In this three-part series, featured artist Ali Banisadr engages in thought-provoking conversations with distinguished curators and art historians, delving into the experiences, influences, and themes that shape his artistic practice.

March 16 (Opening Day): Join Ali Banisadr and KMA Director and Chief Curator Michelle Yun Mapplethorpe for an insightful conversation surveying the ways that Banisadr’s broad knowledge of music, history, science, and psychology—as well as art—has shaped his painting and sculpture. 

April 5: Banisadr and Sarah Graff, Curator, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, explore the impact of Ancient Mesopotamian art on his own work. Their discussion will examine the influences from such works as the Queen of the Night relief (British Museum), votive figures from Tell Asmar, Iraq, and texts like the Epic of Gilgamesh. 

May 10: Banisadr and NYU Professor Alexander Nagel unpack the concept of cyclical time—where past motifs, spaces, and rituals continually reappear—and its influence on Banisadr’s contemporary practice.  

For this first Artists in Conversation program, Member admission is free. 

Each event: $20 Members / $25 Non-Members  

Exhibition Sponsorship:

The exhibition and publication are made possible with support from the Katherine C. and David E. Moore Exhibition Fund and The Director’s Circle of the Katonah Museum of Art: Paul Bird and Amy Parsons, Lisa Lustgarten Byala, Mike Davies, Isabelle Harnoncourt Feigen, Virginia L. Gold, Kirsti Kroener and Nicholas Kronfeld, Linda Nordberg, Yvonne S. Pollack, Rebecca Samberg, and Richard and Audrey Zinman. Additional support has been provided by the Berger Family Foundation, Tara and Jeffrey Coniaris, Padi and Jason Nazmiyal, Thaddaeus Ropac gallery, and the Ali Banisadr Exhibition Leadership Committee. In-kind support has been generously provided by Kasmin; Victoria Miro; Perrotin; Cristea Roberts Gallery, London; and Thaddaeus Ropac gallery. 

The Katonah Museum of Art is proud to be a grantee of ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with the support of County Executive George Latimer. 

The Katonah Museum of Art’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. 

Photo: Charlie Rubin