Farrokh Mahdavi | "The Big Shave": Dastan's Basement

Dastan is pleased to announce the opening of Farrokh Mahdavi’s solo exhibition titled “The Big Shave” curated by Ali Bakhtiari at Dastan’s Basement. The exhibition will be open for public viewing from November 25, 2016, through December 4. This is Farrokh Mahdavi’s first solo exhibition at the Basement. His work has been featured in two solo exhibitions as well as many group shows, including at Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde (Dubai) and Galerie Krinzinger (Vienna), as well as Venice Biennale in 2015.
Farrokh Mahdavi's (b. 1970, Tehran, Iran) works are easily distinguished with their unique pink hue and recognizable technique. As he once said about his portraits, Farrokh aims to reach “a more material meaning*” by “omitting the impurities”, defamiliarization of known facial elements, and crossing over “cliché definitions”.
The current works that have been created over the course of about two years, generally show the process of shaving one’s face. He states: “Since my facial hair began to turn white, I started to shave every day in order not to see the white ones. This routine gradually became more interesting, causing me to further think about it. These paintings have been inspired by this experience.” The works are a progression of the artist’s previous paintings, but aspects of his different series have been mixed together as well. Farrokh’s signature expressive approach along with his realist approach in painting the eyes of the portraits, are among the most distinctive features of this series.
Ali Bakhtiari (b. 1985, Tehran, Iran) is a Tehran-based curator, publisher, art collector, and founder of ABBookness Project. “Karnameh: Visual Culture of Iranian Children” was his most recent curatorial project, in collaboration with Yashar Samimi Mofakham and Peyman Pourhosein, exhibited at Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. He has previously published limited-edition books from the works of well-known artists including Farideh Lashai, Parviz Tanavoli, Parvaneh Etemadi and Ali Akbar Sadeghi.
* from the catalog of “Hearts” exhibition. Etemad Gallery. Tehran, 2013