Farzad Kohan
dal 9/1/2013 al 27/2/2013
Segnalato da
9/1/2013
Farzad Kohan
Ayyam Gallery (DIFC), Dubai
The Passage of Time. The sculptures, installations and photographs of Iranian artist seek to communicate across the divides of culture, language, religion and gender with messages of harmony and unity.
Ayyam Gallery DIFC, Dubai is pleased to present,'The Passage of Time', Farzad Kohan’s first solo exhibition with Ayyam Gallery, from 13 January – 28 February 2013.
The sculptures, installations and photographs of Iranian artist Farzad Kohan seek to communicate across the divides of culture, language, religion and gender with messages of harmony and unity. As a manifestation of his desire to articulate his inner workings through the ordinary things that surround us, Kohan often making use of found objects and materials as diverse as wood, coffee, milk, motor oil and sand.
'The Passage of Time' will comprise a series of new mixed media paintings on wood panels examining the artist’s experience of migration and identity. Recycled newspaper clippings, printed advertisements, and thin, coloured acrylic washes are painstakingly layered through an additive and subtractive method incorporating grinding, sanding, cutting and pasting. Words and images appear like faded memories through the forty or so layers, obscured by a patina of time and distance.
In the lower portion of each panel there appears a line of text in Farsi. Almost disappearing into the vast space that surrounds them, Kohan’s words speak of both loss and hope and are expressions of the fragmented, amorphous identity that is the inevitable result of migration and exile.
Born in Tehran in 1967, Farzad Kohan lives and works in Los Angeles. Solo exhibitions include the Seyhoun Gallery, Los Angeles (2006). Selected group exhibitions include Abra Gallery, Los Angeles (2011); Human Rights Awareness Tour, USA (2008); JFerrari Gallery, Los Angeles (2008); Eagle Rock Cultural Center for Arts (2008); Phantom Galleries, Los Angeles (2007).
About Ayyam Gallery
Founded by collectors and cousins Khaled and Hisham Samawi in Damascus in 2006, Ayyam Gallery sought to nurture Syria’s burgeoning and dynamic contemporary art scene through landmark non-profit initiatives such as the Shabab Ayyam Project, an incubator for emerging artists. Expansion into Beirut and Dubai enabled Ayyam Gallery to broaden its scope from the promotion of work by Syrian artists to those from the wider Middle East region. In doing so, Ayyam Gallery has established itself as one of the foremost exponents of Middle Eastern contemporary art to the international community.
Today, Ayyam Gallery is recognised as a leading cultural voice in the region, representing a roster of Arab and Iranian artists with an international profile and museum presence, such as Nadim Karam, Safwan Dahoul, Samia Halaby, Sadik Alfraji, Afshin Pirhashemi and Khaled Takreti. Key non-commercial exhibitions, as well as the launch of Ayyam Publishing, have further succeeded in showcasing the work of Middle Eastern artists with the aim of educating a wider audience about the art of this significant region. In 2013 two new gallery spaces will open in London and Jeddah. Ayyam Damascus currently functions as a studio and creative haven for artists who remain in the war-torn city.
Image: FK16 Farzad Kohan 'Without Boarders' 150 X 150 cm. Mixed Media on Wood Panel 2012
For press information and images please contact:
Toby Kidd and Amy Sutcliffe at Pelham Communications
Tel: +44 (0) 208 969 3959
Email: toby@pelhamcommunications.com or amys@pelhamcommunications.com
Preview: 13 January 2013, 7pm
Ayyam Gallery DIFC, Dubai
Gate Village Building 3 - DIFC, Dubai
Sunday to Thursday 10 am to 6 pm