About The Work
In his exhibition at Provinz, Behrang Karimi presents a series of works on paper in various formats and one painting. Karimi uses a range of methods, including monotypes, wood- and linocuts and gouache; combined, they create a lively dialogue between the artist and his work. Landscapes and views are often merely hinted at – humans are the true heart of Karimi’s work, appearing as portraits, in classic poses, as lying and seated nudes, alone and in groups. The room around them is diffuse, sometimes suggested by a doorway flooded with light, other times by another person appearing at the edge of the picture. Two people face one another, rigid as statues, separated by a light expanse of color, of water? His figures seem delicate and brittle, as does the scenery they move within. They all portray small episodes within a unique moment – like the worm crawling towards the apple – that disappear almost before we have fully grasped their significance.
The woodcut series entitled “On Earth as it is in Heaven” (“Wie im Himmel so auf Erden”) shows mathematician Omar Khayyam (1048-1131), who reformed the ancient Persian calendar by aligning it with the passage of the sun, as he studies the stars. Held in pinks and reds, each background has been painted individually. This choice of motifs reflects Behrang Karimi’s marked interest in mystical and philosophical texts, which include the medieval scripts of Benedictine healer and botanist Hildegard of Bingen as well as texts from the early Age of Enlightenment by friends and essayists Michel de Montaigne and Etienne de la Boétie. Texts and images alike are characterized by their hybrid nature, their fluid transition between observation and dream, premonition and knowing, the visible and the invisible, power and powerlessness.
Life as a father means Karimi only paints by night, under artificial light; his subdued color palette reflects the twilight atmosphere. He often repeats the same motif again and again, before deciding, une image juste ou juste une image? (“A just image or just an image?”, Jean Luc Godard.)
Courtesy of Provinz
About Behrang Karimi
Work on Paper
Monotype, oil on paper
16.54 x 11.69 in
42.0 x 29.7 cm
This work is signed by the artist.
About The Work
In his exhibition at Provinz, Behrang Karimi presents a series of works on paper in various formats and one painting. Karimi uses a range of methods, including monotypes, wood- and linocuts and gouache; combined, they create a lively dialogue between the artist and his work. Landscapes and views are often merely hinted at – humans are the true heart of Karimi’s work, appearing as portraits, in classic poses, as lying and seated nudes, alone and in groups. The room around them is diffuse, sometimes suggested by a doorway flooded with light, other times by another person appearing at the edge of the picture. Two people face one another, rigid as statues, separated by a light expanse of color, of water? His figures seem delicate and brittle, as does the scenery they move within. They all portray small episodes within a unique moment – like the worm crawling towards the apple – that disappear almost before we have fully grasped their significance.
The woodcut series entitled “On Earth as it is in Heaven” (“Wie im Himmel so auf Erden”) shows mathematician Omar Khayyam (1048-1131), who reformed the ancient Persian calendar by aligning it with the passage of the sun, as he studies the stars. Held in pinks and reds, each background has been painted individually. This choice of motifs reflects Behrang Karimi’s marked interest in mystical and philosophical texts, which include the medieval scripts of Benedictine healer and botanist Hildegard of Bingen as well as texts from the early Age of Enlightenment by friends and essayists Michel de Montaigne and Etienne de la Boétie. Texts and images alike are characterized by their hybrid nature, their fluid transition between observation and dream, premonition and knowing, the visible and the invisible, power and powerlessness.
Life as a father means Karimi only paints by night, under artificial light; his subdued color palette reflects the twilight atmosphere. He often repeats the same motif again and again, before deciding, une image juste ou juste une image? (“A just image or just an image?”, Jean Luc Godard.)
Courtesy of Provinz
About Behrang Karimi
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