Rahileh Rokhsari
Time, memory, and identity lie at the heart of Rahileh Rokhsari’s latest body of work, The Rug Series – deeply personal and evocative exploration of what it means to remember, to belong, and to break free. Drawing from her Iranian heritage, Rokhsari revisits childhood experiences and cultural symbols – most notably, the Persian rug – to question the structures that shape identity and belonging.
Human consciousness is rooted in memory; our sense of self is shaped by the ability to look back and project forward. Rokhsari’s work lives in this space. For over a decade, she has explored memory as a pathway to identity, revisiting moments from her childhood in Iran to weave together past and present.
In Iranian culture, few symbols are as deeply rooted as the rug-woven textiles that quietly bear witness to generations of life. For Rahileh, they are intimate companions, ever-present through moments of joy, grief, and transformation. But these rugs are not merely vessels of nostalgia- they also represent the constraints imposed by cultural and societal norms – grids of expectation into which individuals, especially women, are expected to fit.
In The Rug Series, traditional patterns begin to shift, loosen, and move beyond their expected boundaries. Motifs drift freely, hide, collide, or wander—subtly rebelling against the constraints of order. Through these visual disruptions, Rokhsari challenges the rigidity of societal expectations, particularly those placed on women, individuality, and expression.
Born into an artistic family in Iran, Rahileh trained with prominent artists before relocating abroad. Her journey has taken her across continents, but it is in New York City, where she now lives and works, that these reflections have found form in paint, pattern, and quiet protest.