JAVAD MODARESI

Paradox ll
17 May -21 June, 2019

Assar Art Gallery presents Paradox II, the recent series of paintings by Javad Modaresi.

In his second exhibition with the gallery, Modaresi continues working on his Paradox series, which started a decade ago. Throughout the past decade and after exhibiting Paradox I, he created some abstract pieces and paintings of ancient monuments inspired by nature, experiencing various unorthodox materials. Returning to oil two years ago, he began working on nature in general and Mount Bisotun in particular, and went through the transition of focusing again on cityscapes.

Being inspired by his environment and what surrounds him more, in Paradox II Modaresi once again takes on an urbanistic tone and starts working on different views of buildings with a very subtle painterly technique.

The prevailing silence in his flat compositions of abandoned buildings and gray skies, make viewers experience the absurdity of lonesomeness in communal surroundings. Furthermore, although his paintings can visually imply despondency and gloominess, there seems to be some sort of hidden exuberance in his concealed spaces.

For every aspect of his eight paintings on display there is an intellectual, aesthetic and conceptual reason. The sky is always gray, as details are better seen in that light, in addition to the fact that cloudy weather implies romanticism in his Persian culture. No humans are present in his compositions as he believes human forms are figuratively in contrast with the general looks of his paintings; besides the nostalgic feel that absence of humans implies. Using different shades of gray, his palette is gloomy to convey the paradox and opacity of development.

Born in 1979 in Mashhad where he currently lives and works, Javad Modaresi received his MA in painting in Tehran in 2009. He has had 12 solo shows in Iran and participated in several group shows in Europe.