Iranian-American painter Tala Madani’s provocative and humorous portraits comment on cultural and sexual identity. Drawing from her Iranian heritage, where social etiquette strictly limits contact between members of the opposite sex, Madani subverts the tropes of stereotypical Middle Eastern masculinity by depicting men at play and leisure through the lens of a distinctly female imagination.
Against the background of female rituals such as sleepovers, spa treatments, and bake-offs, Madani’s paintings imagine the goings on at men-only events. Braided Beard’s bear-like subject is primped by a pink-shirted barber, his bulky frame reclining against the improbably small chair like a latter-day odalisque. His hairy legs, delicately crossed, contrast improbably with the shrunken lilac briefs and bright flowery carpet. His barber reaches his hands around his neck, the flexed fingers and indeterminate expression on his face rendering his gestures somewhere between malevolent and gleefully camp.
