|
Artist's Statement
An abstract search for man and nature structured my ideas as regards the immediate surrounding, motivating me to set my "a priori" knowledge along with imagination, depicting the pastoral man in his innocence and liveliness, thus incorporating nature into man, who considered himself part of, and belonging to, nature. This idea characterized my earliest paintings. The image of a light, luxuriant atmosphere of the ancient eras prompted me to search for them, serving as an unconscious drive behind all my attempts.
A great yearning for the past traditions and ancient civilizations was responsible for the emergence of certain motifs and elements, such as fretwork, figures of Persian painting and geomtric pictures.
My works in this period are marked by the use of geometrical configurations, level and color planes, and a tendency toward aggrandization. - The young generation of artists, following the social upheavals, war, and crises they went through, are trying to materialize their ideas. Aware of the magnificent art of the past, this generation has attempted to elucidate their ideals. This period is further characterized by ambiguity of forms, so that, in these works, man doesn't appear distinctly but his true presence can be felt all the more emphatically. Here, form manifests an inner charm, which leads to something like an epiphany, being deeply rooted in dreams and visions. Thus, the thought transcends the canvas.
An interest in tradition, being with me all the time, was so persistent that it permeated even my conceptual works.
Religious signs and symbols, seen through a modern eye, all arose from the same religious and traditional notions that I have entertained.
My childhood, along with religious ceremonies, has been responsible for my present creativity, which seeks a way to link the past to the future.
|
Exclusive Exhibition:
2010 Meem Gallery, Dubai
2009 Etemad Gallery ,Tehran
2007 Majlis Gallery ,Dubai
2007 Niavaran Cultural center ,Tehran
2005 Majlis Gallery ,Dubai
2005 Hermitage Gallery, Washington DC
2004 Rica Gallery, Stockholm
2004 Golestan Gallery, Tehran
2004 Cite International the Art, Paris
2002 Golestan Gallery, Tehran
2001 Majlis Gallery, Dubai
2000 Kavir Gallery, Rafsanjan
2000 Asar Gallery, Tehran
1999 Golestan Gallery, Tehran
1997 Classic Gallery, Isfahan
1997 Khorshid Gallery, Tehran
1996 Golestan Gallery, Tehran
1995 Classic Gallery, Isfahan
1995 Naghshe-Jahan Gallery, Tehran
1994 Classic Gallery, Isfahan
1994 Seihoon Gallery, Tehran
1993 Classic Gallery, Isfahan
1993 Keyhan Gallery, Tehran
Awards
2004 First Place, 3rd Islam World Biennial, Tehran
1997 First Place, The 4th biennial Painting Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
1993 First Place, 1stNational Student Exhibition Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
1993 First Place, 2nd International Flower and Plant Exhibition, Tehran
Group Exhibition:
2011 Art Fair, Abudhabi
2011 Christies Actions, Dubai
2011 54th Biennal Venice
2011 Bait Muzna Gallery, Muscat
2009 Bonhams Actions, Dubai
2009 Cornette de Saint CYR Actions,Paris
2009 Contemporary Iranian Artists ,New York
2008 Bonhams Actions,Dubai
2009 Osborne Samuel Gallery ,London
2008 Mall Gallery ,London
2008 Grand Hyatt ,Dubai
2006 4th Islam World Biennial, Tehran
2006 Exhibition of Video Art, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
2005 Exhibition of Video Art, Italy. Rome
2004 Exhibition of Iranian Garden, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
2004 3rd Islam World Biennial, Tehran
2003 The 6th biennial Painting Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
2003 A Spiritual Vision, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
2003 Abim Group Exhibition, Tehran, Nivaran Cultural Center
2003 Abim Group Exhibition, Mimara Museum, Zagreb
2002 2nd Islam World Biennial, Tehran
2002 2nd Conceptual Art, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
2002 Majlis Gallery, Dubai
2002 Exhibition in aid of earthquake survivors, Tehran
2001 Meridian International Center, Washington, D.C.
2001 The 1st Conceptual Art, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
2000 The 5th biennial Painting Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
2000 Contemporary Iranian Artists, Riaz
2000 Contemporary Iranian Artists, Yerevan
1999 Contemporary Iranian Artists, Kiyev
1999 Green Art Gallery, Dubai
1998 Golestan Gallery, Tehran
1998 Exhibition in support of Hemophilic Patients, Tehran
1998 Majlis Gallery, Dubai
1997 Exhibition in support of Children suffering from Cancer, Tehran
1997 The 4th biennial Painting Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
1996 Charity Exhibition of Hemophilic Patients, Tehran
1996 Art at Your Door Gallery, Las Vegas
1996 Golestan Gallery, Tehran
1995 Seihoon Gallery, Tehran
1995 3rd Biennial Iranian Paintings Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
1995 Golestan Gallery, Tehran
1994 2nd National Student Exhibition Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
1994 Keyhan Gallery, Tehran
1993 1st National Student Exhibition Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
1993 2nd biennial Painting Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
1993 Seihoon Gallery, Tehran
1993 2nd International Flower and Plant Exhibition, Tehran
1990 Persian Painting Exhibition Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
1988 Aftab Gallery, Tehran
|
About Artist
The representational world of Morteza Darebaghi is an outgrowth of the encounter, the contrast and ultimately the reconciliation and coexistence of two inharmonious worlds, two vigorous menatlities; the intrinsic and the extrinsic, a subjective world of endurance and consistency in the face of madness and disorder; a conceptual world of quest and struggle to achieve stability and tranquility, of finesse and serenity, deliverance and coherence in conflict and contrast with a world of anguish, turmoil and uncertainty.
The confrontation of these contrasts, the polarity and their boundaries, predominantly constitutes the theme and the inner core of his works, a strive to overcome this instability, achieving peace,composure and grace.
The painter, now traces his conceptual world with simplicity and candor, well aware of this encounter and contrast or perhaps in pursuit of a blend of the two intrinsic and extrinsic worlds, side by side. Unlike his past, he no longer attaches himself to the diffused patterns of the disorderly climate. He has now disassociated them. Each world present and side by side, has found order and disposition in the artist's discernment and his grip on his conceptual world. A demarcation divides or otherwise reconciles these two worlds, manifesting conceptual exellence.
The design of the dominant core of his works, expressed with the utmost simplicity in artistic flair and practical sophistication , is the contrast of this compilation: composure and serenity, order and arrangement, disposition and geometry.
In the case of massed energy, often congested and formless, and at times wayward, symmetry and order can only arise from old visual tradition. In reality the conjunction of two worlds, two mentalities that find occasional reconciliation, whether side by side, in proximity or far away, reflect the prolific and reconcilable mentality of the artist. The artist, ever familiar and receptive of consistency and stability and at times wedded to tradition, and dependent on this order, arrangement and rigidity, can lend an aesthetic hand to this mass of condensed energy.
The patterns, diverged and fragmented in the climate of previous works of the artist have now achieved unity. In search of a direct minimalistic approach in the application of colors and patterns, of layout, and geometric division in the overlapping layers of his works that reveal the vast and immense universality of his world, the artist displays his coherent mental state with strong and sturdy composition. In the coherence of these compositions, a subjective style and individual expression is being formed; the product of an intuitive understanding of the world and his own peaceful mental state. Now with an understanding of his own world, which he observes with control over instruments and overall design, the artist evolves and elevates himself in the path of exellence.
By Omid Rohani
|