B21 is
proud to host the first solo show in Dubai of painter Shahriar
Ahmadi. Although the artist is young (born in 1979) he is
not a new ‘discovery’ as
such - his considerable talent has seen his show work at 50
solo and group exhibitions, in Iran, USA, London and China,
and garnered him a brace of awards.
Through Shahriar Ahmadi's radiant,
multicolour palette, which he deploys upon monochromatic
backgrounds, he explores emotional and psychological territories
of thought inspired by poems of legendary Sufi mystic Rumi.
Entitling the show ‘Rumi
in my Chalice’, Ahmadi has drawn on the 13th century
poet's themes of love and philosophical contemplation, using
his canvas as a metaphor for a chalice. Upon these massive
surfaces, through abstracted compositions, a range of emotions
are explored, from anxiety to playful abandon.
The fifteen paintings in the exhibition
are executed with consummate assurance and a fluid hand.
A virtuoso, Ahmadi has developed a characteristic harmony
of shape and dazzling intensities of colour. The sense of
energy they project is already gaining popularity not only
in Tehran , but among prestigious supporters of the arts
worldwide.
At this moment in time Ahmadi epitomizes
the new wave of Iranian painters, who combine a sense of Iranian
history with frank assessments of modern-day society, refracted
through a deeply personal artistic prism.
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