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Lot Essay
Shishegaran's works can be identified as a form of 'Linear' or 'Strip' painting and considered a continuation of this new trend in the Modern Art. The artistic substance of these works is based on the fluid movements of lines on a pure background, without any composition and free from any expressionist impulse. Colours are clearly inexpressive, mostly resembling those of the graphic or advertising nature. The edges of the lines and surfaces are sharp and decisive and the colours maintain their consistencies, while the major idea is to create plenty of visual energy and invoke the inquisitive mind of the viewer, rather than internal organisation of the elements in a conventional painting. The end result is a visual stimulation and dynamism, which is purely optical; in other words, "the very essence of seeing" without the unnecessary rhetoric.
His paintings struggle between representation and abstraction, maintaining their identity as a completely modern creation, always remaining in a flat space and avoiding any perspective projection. The figure emerging in such atmosphere lacks any emotional and psychological effect, as if it is indicative of form and abstraction rather than any humane narratives. The artist's repetitive statements clearly show that he resorts to abstraction in order to avoid imposing a personal account of the man and the life, leaving any judgment and analysis to the viewer: "I always wondered why we should not paint a portrait in an abstract form. An abstract portrait gives the artist liberty to glance beyond the appearance and project the subject in a symbolic way. There are many untold mysteries within a portrat. Once told, they project a different world far more interesting than the one apparent to us. The artists who can detach himself from the appearance will find a unique way of projecting his apprehensions".
It is clearly evident from this statement that the artist is using the portraits as a medium to convey a message to his audience. However, by presenting the figures in an abstract form, he distances himself from the subject of the work and avoids imposing any personal impression on the viewer. But when the portrait is struggling in the middle of a heap of entangled lines and strips, projecting a suffocating situation, you only wonder if this manner of presenting The Man is anything but a painful and tragic account of the current state of Mankind.
His paintings struggle between representation and abstraction, maintaining their identity as a completely modern creation, always remaining in a flat space and avoiding any perspective projection. The figure emerging in such atmosphere lacks any emotional and psychological effect, as if it is indicative of form and abstraction rather than any humane narratives. The artist's repetitive statements clearly show that he resorts to abstraction in order to avoid imposing a personal account of the man and the life, leaving any judgment and analysis to the viewer: "I always wondered why we should not paint a portrait in an abstract form. An abstract portrait gives the artist liberty to glance beyond the appearance and project the subject in a symbolic way. There are many untold mysteries within a portrat. Once told, they project a different world far more interesting than the one apparent to us. The artists who can detach himself from the appearance will find a unique way of projecting his apprehensions".
It is clearly evident from this statement that the artist is using the portraits as a medium to convey a message to his audience. However, by presenting the figures in an abstract form, he distances himself from the subject of the work and avoids imposing any personal impression on the viewer. But when the portrait is struggling in the middle of a heap of entangled lines and strips, projecting a suffocating situation, you only wonder if this manner of presenting The Man is anything but a painful and tragic account of the current state of Mankind.