Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar Iranian-French, b. 1984

Behnam-Bakhtiar’s paintings envisiontheconstructof life and humanity,suspended in time.In his work, the artist juxtaposes interpretations of hisconnectiontolife and signifies of a vitaland necessaryperspective on theworld andhuman processes.Withintricatelylayered works,in many of his recent canvases, he adopts a sustainable approach,embracing recycled andnatural pigments as well asthe use ofuntreated canvas and sustainably sourced chassis,which he augments byincorporatingnaturalmediumsourced fromareas where he createsthe works.A pioneering and conscious shift that considers the footprint of an artwork and itsphysical impact on theworld’senvironmentwhilecreatinga sensory experience for the viewer.In his signature style of peinture raclée, or scraped painting, the artist continually creates adeeper abstract window into a visual representation of humanity’s true strengthsand identity,exploring the power and potential of one’s energy, and its ability to lead us into a necessaryhuman evolution.Since 2016,Behnam-Bakhtiarhas increasinglypracticedhis signature style of work, creatingpaintingswhichreflect thelayers ofone’s journey through life,meditating on the fine dance ofenergy,feelingsand time. He paints from one layer to another,repeatedlysculpting and de-layering the canvas,for several months to years, physically manifesting the humanexperience. Thesemulti-layeredworks referencea prosperous way of life, humanconsciousness leading toevolution,andawakeningto theexperience ofpositive emotions,attimes despite adversity.Theoverlappinglayers of pigmentsaremasterfullyappliedbringingforth complexcompositionsthat are directly related to the artist’s experience of life. Searchingfor primalcreativeexperience,Behnam-Bakhtiaravoids preliminaryplanning orsketching,confronting the viewer instead with an unmediated dialogue between colour and gesture thatpresents a powerful impactand connection through a living experience of each oeuvre.Engineeringalchemyusing natural and recycled pigments,as well asnaturallocally sourcedmediums, Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiarbrings forth an unapparelled creative processwithshapes and rhythmsemerging or disappearing into the works’ interlocking patterns.At a firstglance refences could certainly be establishedfrom Behnam-Bakhtiar’s works tothe artists ofdifferent epochsfromPaulSignacandClaudeMonet toJoan Mitchel and Jean Paul Riopelle,who have integrated various representationsof light, energy and landscapes in paintings.However, Behnam-Bakhtiar’s connection of his work to an interior journey edges it away fromthe many art-historical reference points. Behnam-Bakhtiar is less interested in setting up arelation between his works and art history, and more about enabling the individual encounterwith each work. It is one that demands the attention of the viewer: to work backwards throughthe layers ofpaint, to imagine the time elapsed between them, and to transform the colour intoideas that gesture towards the invisible.