Rezvan Sadeghzadeh’s new work explores women and symbolic obstacles in a male dominated society.
Iranian painter Rezvan Sadeghzadeh presents a new collection of oil paintings this month with his latest exhibition, Passing the Crisis held at Dubai’s Ayyam Gallery DIFC until October 15th. His new collection of works directly addresses emotions such as apprehension, hope and fear by presenting lonesome anonymous female figures often dwarfed by imposing stones and boulders. The abstract artist, who was the winner at the 7th Tehran Biennial in 2003, often depicts women facing obstacles in a male-dominated society and this exhibition explores his signature theme even further.
“I see my work as a mix of Iranian and Japanese painting fused with my own ideas” explains the 59-year-old. “Women, stones, and trees are three major elements and I prefer to focus on a single subject to achieve depth in painting.” He goes on to explain that the reoccurrence of stones and other objects; such as bayonets, candles and doors in his works represent organisms with a life and energy of their own. “I came across these elements on streets of the town in which I live and they have gradually found their way into my work. They are valuable to me as they carry paradoxical concepts within them.”
These double meanings within Sadeghzadeh’s work enable the audience to interpret each piece in their own way— for instance the stone can be a rigid, remorseless object, or can similarly also represent persistence and stoicism. A candle can be representative of mourning or, to a different eye, celebration. “I envy and admire great painters of the world including Ingres, Delacroix, Rembrandt and Matisse. And I am very much interested in works of Iranian, Middle Eastern and Far Eastern painters too,” Sadeghzadeh explains. It comes as no surprise that the poetry of Hafiz, with its subtle layers of meaning, inspires the artist’s work. He continues, “I paint my life and live my paintings. I prefer to adhere to a firm principle that can rule both my paintings and life.”