Sadra Baniasadi | "Escaping Reality, Full Speed": Dastan's Basement

Dastan's Basement announces “Escaping Reality, Full Speed”, a solo exhibition of works by Sadra Baniasadi (b. 1991, Tehran، Iran), opening on May 3 and continuing through May 24, 2024. “Escaping Reality, Full Speed” marks his fourth solo at Dastan Gallery after “Sisters” (Dastan’s Basement, 2019). 

In "Escaping Reality, Full Speed", Sadra Baniasadi reverts to the realm of imagination, escaping from the world that surrounds him which he calls unbelievable, maddening, and terrifying. He considers painting a quick escape from all of these. Painting allows him to immerse himself in an almost dreamlike state in another dimension. In his practice, the mind’s projecting, reviewing, and struggling while painting gives him a sense of peace.

To pass from reality to the imagination, myths and rituals intrigue him. He draws inspiration from masks, dance costumes, and polytheistic cultures to shape this series. In his new exploration that sets foot into the realm of sculpture, Baniasadi incorporates found objects into his work and creates pieces that look like domestic creations: assemblages made from walnut skin and compact discs and a cut from an empty tube of paint, with a sense of grotesque humor. In addition to these, the exaggerations and stylizations used in the cartoon are those that employ narration. From the artist's point of view, these are timeless visual media used from prehistoric times to modern art.

Sadra Baniasadi (b. 1991, Tehran) uses a variety of mediums, including music, video, and storytelling, to reach his audience. He is a graduate of Painting from Tehran University of Art (2015).