Ani Afshar, admired for more than 40 years in Chicago’s creative community for her work in fiber art and jewelry design, passed away Thursday, Aug. 8, in hospice shortly after being diagnosed with cancer. She was 77.
Her highly personal work navigates the cultures of Turkey, Iran, Switzerland and the United States, the places in which she had lived and developed her artistic practice; and in many ways this work served as an intimate portrait of her peripatetic life.
In his 1987 essay on Ms. Afshar, Richard Born of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art said, “Her works are an inextricable blending of all these diverse cultural experiences, and they are at once avant-garde and traditional and evince an identifiable originality founded in the artist's own personal vision, taste, and sense of propriety.”
While the ancient tribal weavings and textile traditions of Turkey and the Near East were of particular interest to Afshar, she was fearless in her experimentation, and reveled in the unexpected.
As Born said, “She does not imitate or merely copy the outward appearances of such weavings, but instead she imbues her own highly individual work—whether wool hangings, shawls, bedspreads, pillows or beaded and woven jewelry—with her deep-felt understanding and appreciation of aesthetic principles operative in this rich age-old textile heritage."
She was forever shifting effortlessly from subject to subject; exploring materials as far afield as tulle, beadwork, embroidery, and heirloom cloth; and produced work at every scale.
More recently, gallerist Benoist F. Drut has said, “there’s a deep-felt connection and appreciation for the aesthetic principles of this rich, old textile heritage. She has found a unique way to incorporate bits of history into her works. There is something so beautiful about the way she gives pieces of history a new life and new purpose.”
Her creative accomplishments were well known through her Lincoln Park jewelry boutique, Ani Afshar, in the 1990s. Her Blazing Beads jewelry collection sold privately and through upper-end department stores attracted an international clientele and she was celebrated across the globe.
Volunteering her time to assist in the Textile Resource Center at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, her deep textile knowledge and generous spirit were appreciated by both students and faculty. She was an advocate for students, cared about their work and ideas, and followed their progress. She was a good friend and mentor to many young artists
Ms. Afshar’s loom work evolved into small, ethereal pieces combining found elements with gossamer fabric. These works were shown at the Epiphany Center for the Arts in summer of 2022. The Hyde Park Art Center presented her solo exhibition “Woven Gardens, Shredded Shadows” in 2012. Her artwork will be featured in the upcoming Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art group show in Chicago, Sept. 21 - Dec. 22.
Born in Turkey, Ms. Afshar was a convivial hostess who regularly held dinners, attended by other Chicago art world figures. She was a close friend of the admired art historian and critic Dennis Adrian.
Maison Gerard has represented her work since 2020. We offer our profound sympathies to the artist's family and friends.