Ali Beheshti: Frieze Seoul 2022

Dastan presents works of Ali Beheshti at Frieze Seoul (September 2-5, 2022, booth F8). In Beheshti’s work the allegorical world becomes manifest. He pares down the visual characteristics of an object to such an extent that it appears the artist is merely reproducing and recreating a set of motifs. His forms have become more abstract over time, more geometric. All agency is given to the material and the artist's hands don't leave a trace behind, it is as if a machine has printed them on paper.

Ali Beheshti first draws geometric forms on graph paper and then transfers them to the computer to bring precision to the forms. He finally transfers the retouched form back to paper using different materials. The material thus acquires agency over the piece and fashions the surface of the painting. “Although these works hint at a formalist approach,” Beheshti explains, “they come from an inner, existential necessity, foremost because they go through different semantic passages." Such approach to the material also affects the meaning of the works. The method in which he employs black pigments, alongside technical sensitivities and formal characteristics of the medium, allows for images to emerge, blurring the line between print, drawing, painting, and photography. Beheshti exploits black, harnessing a wide variety of artistic and industrial materials. This results in different qualities of black: sometimes opaque or transparent, sometimes with a smooth finish, other times scratched, tainted or foggy. In Beheshti’s opinion, "there must be a reason for color to be employed in a piece; otherwise, it becomes superfluous”. “I have done studies in color,” the artist elaborates, “but for these works to invite color a transformation must take place. The black and white contrast is a way to attract the viewers' attention to the form: "Next to or in opposition to each other, black and white create a meaning that is closer to my intention. I felt these two colors were enough."

Ali Beheshti (b. 1988, Qom, Iran) graduated with a BA in Graphic Design (2011) and an MA in Painting (2014) from Azad University of Tehran. He has held three solo exhibitions at Dastan's Basement ("Opaque", 2021; "Interpretation", 2019; "Insensible", 2017) and his works have appeared in several group exhibitions, including "Encircle the Apple or Shadowlessness" (2019, V-Gallery, Tehran) and "Agog" (2016, V-Café, Tehran), both curated by Aidin Xankeshipour, and "I draw, therefore I think", a South South Project curated by Jitish Kallat (2021).