calendario eventi  :: 

X

6/5/2005

Andisheh Avini

I-20 Gallery, New York

I-20 will open an exhibition of new works by Andisheh Avini, his second exhibit at the gallery. His first exhibition was in 2002.

In the artist’s two series of works and one sculpture, potent symbols of Persian culture, text, painting and religion are ghosted, creating a void of meaning which the viewer is challenged to fill. Avini’s artistry is in the subtle ways he creates a void.

In Avini’s “bleach” paintings, for example, the artist writes in the Middle Eastern manner, from right to left, resting his hand and allowing the bleach to spread. The bleach collects and spreads out as organic or celestial forms, overtaking the script and sometimes obscuring it. For an Iranian, the random words have no meaning. For a non-Iranian viewer the text cannot be understood by default. For both viewers, the indecipherable text becomes formal imagery that can be writing or painting, and acts almost like silhouettes where the surface has been erased for a deeper truth.

Avini also uses silhouettes that emphasize the human form by altering traditional Persian miniatures. In these works, the figures against intricate backgrounds are obscured by silver paint, and thus separated from their received cultures.

Avini’s untitled sculpture is a sphere made of earth from holy shrines around the Middle East. This earth has been reduced to a fine powder using prayer paraphernalia, small discs used as reference points during Muslim prayer. The artist has reformed these discs into a three-dimensional anonymous and universal shape.

Andisheh Avini was born in 1974 and studied fine arts at Hunter College. He lives and works in New York.

An illustrated catalogue (No. 21), with a text by Natasha Roje, will accompany this exhibition.

Image: Untitled (1), 2005

I-20 Gallery is located at 529 West 20th Street, 11th Floor, New York 10011
I-20 is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 AM–6 PM

stampa

permanent link