NEW YORK, NY.- CUE Art presents The Bride Has Gone to Pick Flowers, a group exhibition curated by Lila Nazemian with works by Levon Kafafian, Fatemeh Kazemi, and Levani. The exhibition is organized as part of CUE's open call for curatorial projects, and Nazemian is mentored by curator Martha Joseph. It is on view at CUE’s gallery space at 137 W. 25th Street until May 10, 2025. Attendance during gallery hours (Wed–Sat, 12–6 pm) is free; no reservations are required.

On Wednesday, February 26th from 7:00—10:00 pm, CUE will host a performative dinner by artist Fatemeh Kazemi in collaboration with the food collective Bazm. The event is ticketed, and consists of a five-course meal with drinks included.

The Bride Has Gone to Pick Flowers presents works by three artists who utilize installation, sculpture, assemblage, textile, sound, and performance to delve into the significance of marriage rituals from the Caucasus region. Together, they create new worlds that reimagine these traditions through a speculative and queer lens.

The title of the exhibition makes reference to a Persian phrase common in Iranian wedding ceremonies: "عروس رفته گل بچینه", spoken as part of a playful consent ritual at the altar. When the bride demurs at the first or second offer of marriage, guests chime in with various lighthearted reasons for why she cannot respond, before the inevitable "yes" arrives.

Within the exhibition, the eponymous bride becomes a metaphor for the fluid and evolving nature of identity, a character shaped by the dynamic exchange of ideas and the porosity of cultural boundaries. Each artist employs alter egos as a vehicle for exploring and reinterpreting inherited practices. By embodying ancient deities and iconic literary figures, Kafafian, Kazemi, and Levani question societal norms, reposition archetypal constructs, and expand upon established customs, creating spaces that are inclusive and affirming of queer identities.

Levon Kafafian’s installation Mirror of Fate is inspired by the Armenian midsummer holiday hampartsum—a celebration of love and new beginnings. It is centered around the serpentine spirit Anarad, a central figure in their ongoing world-building project, Azadistan. Making reference to the practice of vijagakhagh (fortune telling), Kafafian creates an altar enveloped within suspended panels of hand-dyed silk dedicated to divination and the search for love. Among the objects handmade by the artist within the altar are a book, a leather artifact and rug, and Pools of Liquid Time crafted from satin, beadwork, and cured resin that evoke the flow of time, Anarad’s domain of influence and magic. The work is accompanied by a soundscape by electronic musician and sound artist Lara Sarkissian informed by the resonant echoes of Armenian churches and the mountainous landscapes of the Caucasus.

Fatemeh Kazemi’s Yalan Dünya draws inspiration from a ritual led by married women of rubbing sugar cubes above the heads of newlyweds. In Saqi, a partition screen is covered in wallpaper that reproduces drawings of a female figure and archival photos of lovers embracing. These works explore the parallels between celebration and mourning, joy and grief. Kazemi channels her alter ego, the saqi (cupbearer), a seminal character in Persian literature who serves as a conduit for collective memory. In Dünya Mest Olmuş, wall moulding doubles as a concrete poem written from the perspective of the saqi about the process of fermenting grapes to be distilled into libations. The saqi embodies both earthly and spiritual realms and is represented as both male and female, manifesting a fluidity aligned with Kazemi's explorations of queerness and cultural identity.

Levani delves into ancient Georgian beliefs and Sumerian mythology in the installation the altar, which marries the elemental forces of fire, water, earth, and air. Projected footage of the sun—a primary source of light, life, energy, and knowledge—is flanked by v. the hierophant i. + ii., two horned, androgynous totems that embody the duality of light and dark, masculine and feminine. Positioned amidst them is a water-filled stone basin hand carved by sculptor Papuna Dabrundashvili. Sounds of protesters in Tbilisi, recorded by artist Marika Kochiashvili, create perceptible vibrations. Across from the installation is ii. the priestexx [bride], which has dual presence as a warrior, and includes hand-hammered copper adornments by designer Godera. These works echo struggles for justice throughout time and highlight the relationship between present-day and ancestral cultural practices.

The Bride Has Gone to Pick Flowers transforms the gallery into a sanctuary imbued with the tranquility of sacred gathering sites. Viewers—who enter with their own personal histories, heritages, identities, and beliefs—are invited to take a moment of reprieve to contemplate their place within the world, and to consider how ancient traditions and contemporary realities intertwine to shape our individual and collective understandings of love, identity, and community.

The Dinner

Hearts of Sugar, Fingers Dipped in Honey is a five-course performative dinner by artist Fatemeh Kazemi in collaboration with the food collective Bazm. The event contemplates the concept of marriage and the myth of the bride—an ever-changing figure shrouded in ritual, desire, and silence. Through food, conversation, and company, the dinner constructs an interface for a sensory, multi-layered, and nonlinear narrative of wedding feasts through the premise of a bride who has left without saying goodbye—and whose departure, like the hierarchies of marriage and the violences nestled within it, is forgotten amidst the sweet haze of familial joy.

The bride, a liminal being suspended between past and future, is often portrayed as an icon of happiness. This symbology, however, often belies feelings of silence, sacrifice, and disappearance. Marriage, wrapped in layers of tradition, can sustain an illusion of safety and celebration for the bride while concealing their quiet endurance when faced with the control embedded in patriarchal legacies that shape both law and ritual in Kazemi’s homeland of Iran, and indeed, throughout the world.

By restaging elements of a traditional Iranian sofreh aghd (wedding spread), dinner guests will consider how rituals evoke the untold stories that have been whispered, tucked beneath pillows, and left unsaid. The feast becomes a shared skin—allowing its participants to have a taste of the depths of the bride’s pleasure and pain. The dinner after the ceremony serves as a beginning and an end, raising many unspoken questions. What happens after the last guest leaves, after the sweets are gone, after the door is closed?

The menu, prepared especially for the evening by Golbarg Jokar of Bazm and created in collaboration with Kazemi, seeks to recreate personal experiences as well as the historical and cultural nuances of Iran’s many culinary landscapes, and to emphasize the relationship of food to joy, indulgence, festivity—and sometimes, mourning. Together, we will channel the memory and absence of the bride, summoning them in order to better taste, to more closely listen, and to rewrite the sweet myths we have swallowed whole.

Bazm—a Farsi word that loosely translates to a feast, celebration, or party—is an intimate gathering where music and food come together. The group describes themselves as follows: "We are a collective of five young Iranian friends united by a shared passion for introducing Iranian culture through food. What started as a way to connect with our roots has grown into a mission to bring the flavors, traditions, and warmth of Iran to New York City and beyond. The meals we host are designed to take guests on a journey through specific regions of Iran, with food as the vessel. We are not professional chefs, but we cook from the heart. Our goal is to recreate the warmth and joy we felt as children at grandparents’ gatherings—welcoming you into our homes and to our tables with that same spirit. Beyond the food, we believe in hosting as an art form, deeply rooted in Persian culture. Through our events, we hope you experience a sense of community, a feeling of belonging, and the rich traditions passed down through generations—all through the simple yet powerful act of sharing a meal."