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Lot Essay
'I like the idea of creating something flat, that doesn't necessarily look flat.' (Farhad Moshiri, in 'An Artified World', interview with Jerôme Sans)
An acclaimed international artist, Farhad Moshiri returned to Tehran in 1991 after studying in the prestigious CalArts in California. He has become an iconic figure of the contemporary art scene who constantly creates innovative art techniques of his own, from mimicking aged Persian ceramics to interpreting the Abjad alphabet, from making installations with acrylic 'pastries' to others entirely embroidered with beads and pearls, from incorporating Swarovksi crystals to his compositions to producing art pieces solely composed of knives.
The rich variety of Moshiri's oeuvre not only lies in his creativeness as both a painter and a conceptual artist, but also in the eclectic richness of his visual vocabulary, where past and present meet. Reconciling the ancient with the modern is at the core of Farhad Moshiri's oeuvre, yet his works are always imbued with his self-reflection and his observation of present life in Iran.
Christie's is delighted to offer in this sale three works by the acclaimed artist, each illustrating different characteristic subjects and techniques.
In the present lot, Moshiri creates an almost trompe-l'oeil effect with the glazed craquelure present throughout the surface of the work. The technique of crackled and flaked paint is also used in Moshiri's Numeral series in which the artist pursues his fascination with the Arabic Abjad alphabet, a symbolic language of numbers and signs which contains magical meanings and codes. He intentionally attributes an aged and worn look to the surface, revealing his interest in archeology, in the excavation process and in the re-discovery of a lost identity. To achieve this lifelike texture, he rolls up, folds and crushes his canvas once the various layers of paint have just about dried, causing the pigment on the surface to flake and crackle. He then consolidates his work with a transparent water-based glue to avoid any further paint loss.
The present lot is a stunning example from this series as one observes the complexity of the layers, the use of different pigments and its extensive gold leaf work - a medium Moshiri fully explores later on in his series of furniture and objects entirely covered with gold leaf. Abjad calligraphy is frequently used to ornate and adorn manuscripts and talismanic garments in Iran and in the Ottoman territories, conferring blessings and protection to the wearer. By spreading this Persian script over the canvas and having it bleed over the edges, Moshiri seems to have magnified a small fragment of these lavish objects and reproduced it onto his canvas. Although the subject and Moshiri's flaking technique contribute to the antique flavour of this series, there is nonetheless a touch of Pop Art rendered by the almost graffiti-like appearance of the numbers and letters, reminiscent of Western Abstract Expressionism. The use of gold leaf is recurrent through Moshiri's works, as it often represents not only today's consumer's society, but also subtly alludes to the fact that for many people, one needs to be wealthy in order to be happy.
Moshiri's sarcastic eye is a witness to his country's history and contemporary society. His works are never an obvious criticism, but are are often faintly suggested through the kitsch sphere he creates. Moshiri's Pop Art and fantasy world allow him to surpass the restraints on freedom of expression imposed by Iran's censorship and invite his viewers to choose their own interpretation.
An acclaimed international artist, Farhad Moshiri returned to Tehran in 1991 after studying in the prestigious CalArts in California. He has become an iconic figure of the contemporary art scene who constantly creates innovative art techniques of his own, from mimicking aged Persian ceramics to interpreting the Abjad alphabet, from making installations with acrylic 'pastries' to others entirely embroidered with beads and pearls, from incorporating Swarovksi crystals to his compositions to producing art pieces solely composed of knives.
The rich variety of Moshiri's oeuvre not only lies in his creativeness as both a painter and a conceptual artist, but also in the eclectic richness of his visual vocabulary, where past and present meet. Reconciling the ancient with the modern is at the core of Farhad Moshiri's oeuvre, yet his works are always imbued with his self-reflection and his observation of present life in Iran.
Christie's is delighted to offer in this sale three works by the acclaimed artist, each illustrating different characteristic subjects and techniques.
In the present lot, Moshiri creates an almost trompe-l'oeil effect with the glazed craquelure present throughout the surface of the work. The technique of crackled and flaked paint is also used in Moshiri's Numeral series in which the artist pursues his fascination with the Arabic Abjad alphabet, a symbolic language of numbers and signs which contains magical meanings and codes. He intentionally attributes an aged and worn look to the surface, revealing his interest in archeology, in the excavation process and in the re-discovery of a lost identity. To achieve this lifelike texture, he rolls up, folds and crushes his canvas once the various layers of paint have just about dried, causing the pigment on the surface to flake and crackle. He then consolidates his work with a transparent water-based glue to avoid any further paint loss.
The present lot is a stunning example from this series as one observes the complexity of the layers, the use of different pigments and its extensive gold leaf work - a medium Moshiri fully explores later on in his series of furniture and objects entirely covered with gold leaf. Abjad calligraphy is frequently used to ornate and adorn manuscripts and talismanic garments in Iran and in the Ottoman territories, conferring blessings and protection to the wearer. By spreading this Persian script over the canvas and having it bleed over the edges, Moshiri seems to have magnified a small fragment of these lavish objects and reproduced it onto his canvas. Although the subject and Moshiri's flaking technique contribute to the antique flavour of this series, there is nonetheless a touch of Pop Art rendered by the almost graffiti-like appearance of the numbers and letters, reminiscent of Western Abstract Expressionism. The use of gold leaf is recurrent through Moshiri's works, as it often represents not only today's consumer's society, but also subtly alludes to the fact that for many people, one needs to be wealthy in order to be happy.
Moshiri's sarcastic eye is a witness to his country's history and contemporary society. His works are never an obvious criticism, but are are often faintly suggested through the kitsch sphere he creates. Moshiri's Pop Art and fantasy world allow him to surpass the restraints on freedom of expression imposed by Iran's censorship and invite his viewers to choose their own interpretation.