In her paintings on garments, the artist Jaleh Tavassoli explores a connection and commonality that is particularly meaningful to her: that between resilient women and resilient plants. In the artist’s own words:

“Iranian women, with their courage and resilience, are my greatest source of inspiration. Like plants that grow in difficult conditions and hostile environments, they keep moving forward, growing, breaking through the structures imposed upon them, blossoming and changing the world. I have transferred these forms onto garments made from natural fibres because I am convinced that clothing is one of the most powerful ways to express our thoughts and beliefs. What we wear can become a statement about who we are and what we believe in. With these garments, I wanted to bring the natural power of women to the body – a power that, like plants, is organic, unstoppable, beautiful and ever-growing. The designs are not only meant to be looked at, but also to be worn, carried with you and to become part of everyday life.”

About Jaleh Tavassoli
Jaleh Tavassoli explores how bodies define themselves in a place where love, beauty, joy and happiness are not tolerated. Her primary inspiration is the transformative combination of suffering, awareness, wisdom and courage found in Iranian women. She views their development over the past 200 years as something akin to the growth of plants in inhospitable environments. Both, she says, are organic, dynamic, expanding and unstoppable. The artist is currently exploring how personal and collective experiences can be transformed into spaces of connection that reflect the fractal structures found in nature – structures which, in contrast to hierarchical vertical systems, are composed of feminine and expansive horizontal values.

Jaleh Tavassoli is an artist-in-residence in Bad Ems. Her stay is made possible by the ‘In Solidarity!’ grant, a collaboration this year between the Rhineland-Palatinate Foundation for Culture and the Artist Residency at Schloss Balmoral.

Opening hours: 20 August 2026 – 7.00 pm

Opening: > 21 August 2026 – 2.00–8.00 pm, exhibition open (the artist will be present)

22 August 2026 – 2.00–8.00 pm, exhibition open (The artist will be present)

23 August 2026 – 2.00 pm–8.00 pm, exhibition open

We would like to thank our supporting association, Balmoral 03 e.V., for their support and look forward to seeing you there!