Bahareh Navabi | "Monochromatic Silence": Dastan +2

Dastan+2 is pleased to announce the opening of Bahareh Navabi’s solo exhibition “Monochromatic Silence” on August 19, 2016. The exhibition will be open for public viewing until September 3. This is Bahareh Navabi’s third solo exhibition at Dastan.

Bahareh Navabi (b. 1985, Tehran, Iran) uses multiple layers of tracing paper in order to create drawings that convey a sense of transparency. This results in a floating atmosphere to “express the ideas behind the faces in isolation that are rooted in their memories”. Her technique of drawing on both sides of tracing papers, like an inside/outside impression, carries a sensitive response to her obsession with the concept of memory and its longevity.

Bahareh Navabi was taught by the late Farideh Lashai (1944-2013) from an early age. She initially focused on abstract painting, exhibiting them in a number of gallery shows since 2003, including a solo exhibition at Mah Art Gallery in 2007. Later, after graduating from École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, her focus shifted towards portraiture and mixing it with abstract elements, creating drawings that the late Parviz Kalantari (1931-2016) described as “abstract figurative works based on unexpected abstractions of reality, seen in isolation and simplicity on the surface…”

Although the paintings induce timelessness, their layers contain traces that depict a passage of time, as if enduring their memories. The use of symbolic icons in the current series marks an allusion to her abstract paintings and graphic works. Additionally, the installation of the works in the gallery space, along with mirrors in some of the works, has resulted in a dialog among the artworks.