Out of all the works on display, at the exhibition of Iranian artworks at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, the carpet designs in black and white are the most fascinating.
Inspired by Persian miniatures, the designs by Somaye Keighobadi, are intricately crafted with patterns of floral motifs forming a broad outline depicting maidens out on a picnic in a garden with fruit bowls and musical instruments.
She also woks with smaller frames, sometimes depicting a maiden with a bird perched on her finger, again in the garden accompanied by flowers and a fruit bowl. She zooms in further, focusing on one floral design in her frames.
The other notable series of works are the photographs of tree barks by Armin Azernewshe, again in black and white. Each photograph, is accompanied by philosophical thoughts such as time, being and so on. “I find that tree trunks have a lot of graphic forms. They talk to me. I also wanted to show the evolution of human thought through my works,” says Armin, who shot his photographs both in Iran and India (Lalbagh is one of his locations).
Marjan Pipelzahdeh also works with the tree as his subject, he has been creating drawings of a trees in rich, earthy brown or of a single leaf, tracing its outline and the intricate lines of its veins.
Modern sculpture
Meanwhile Majid Barouei works with wood to create “contemporary” sculptures, sometimes working with sharp, clean lines and shapes to create modern sculptures, at other times working with undulating, rough texture of wood to create textured faces or figures.
“Each sculpture has a different concept. For example, in one sculpture I have shown two people hugging with an apple in between. Here I am drawing attention to the apple as the cause that had Adam and Eve sent away from heaven,” he explains. “In another sculpture, I have intertwined the shapes of a man’s face and a tree trunk, to show that we are dependent on nature, but we are spoiling nature without even thinking that it has a life of its own just like us. We are all part of nature.”
He likes to work with wood because it is a natural material and therefore has more value. “When I work with material from nature, I feel it talks to me.”
The exhibition also features paintings by Majid Barouei, Somaye Keighobadi, Danial Shafaei and Armin Azarnewshe as well as works by Marjan Pirato and A.Dan and Nasim.
Their works will be on display until May 12 at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Kumara Krupa Road. For details, contact 9916199057 or 9986432214.
