NOIRE

“My memories of Noire Gallery go back to that unforgettable spring day in 1997, when I
sat in their garden, in their beautiful home outside of Turin, making “Women of Allah”
pictures for the book of my work they were about to publish. Their children were small
and playing. Silvia was feeding me good Italian food, while Marco cared for their horses.
Here, I felt welcomed by a family who had an undeniable passion for art, but more
importantly looked to establish sincere human relationships with artists. Then came my
next most memorable experience with the Noire family, it was at ARCO in Madrid in
1998, when we unveiled the fruit of our collaboration, the video installation “Turbulent,”
which went on to win a Golden Lion at the Venice Biennial in 1999. I could not have been
more proud, not because of the success of this video, but because the friendship between
Marco, Silvia and me, had resulted in an artwork, which had now found its place in art
history. I will forever be grateful to Marco and Silvia Noire for having been there with me,
when no-one else was.”

– Shirin Neshat, March 10, 2015