Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac is pleased to announce an exhibition by Iranian-born, New York-based artist Ali Banisadr. After his highly successful show of paintings at the gallery in February 2010, we will present a new series of works on paper for the first time under the title Evidence in the Drawing Space.
In these new works on paper Banisadr brings together print making, drawing and painting by using a variety of mediums such as watercolor, pastel, pencil and ink. He brings to life his figures and landscapes, inspired by Persian miniature, and combines them with more abstract images. Banisadr's drawings should not be seen as studies or sketches for his paintings, but as autonomous visual explorations of color, depth and layered narratives. Those familiar with the semi-abstract style of his paintings with plunging views of crowded activities will recognize the sense of sound and movement emanating from Banisadr's imagery. However in his paintings the artist condenses his imagined scenarios, whereas in his works on paper, parts of scenes seem to unfold before us linearly, as if unrolled from a film negative. "Within these repeated images, I hope the viewer will get a chance to investigate the scenes, like a forensic scientist discovering some long forgotten roll of film from the past," explains Banisadr.
Ali Banisadr was born in Tehran in 1976 and moved to California with his family when he was a child. He attended the New York School of Visual Arts where he first displayed his work in an exhibition entitled In Exile in 2005 and then went to the New York Academy of Art. He now lives and works in New York. Recent group exhibitions include Raad o Bargh: 17 Iranian Artists at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Paris (2009), Unveiled: New Art from the Middle East at the Saatchi Gallery in London (2009) and Weaving the Common Thread at the Queens Museum of Art, New York (2008). His work is included in the exhibition, Hareng Saur: Ensor and Contemporary Art at the SMAK in Ghent, Belgium (31 October - 27 February 2011).
