Amir Khojasteh and Sabrina Mendoza Malavé on view with 'Diana, New York: A Room Without a Door'
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Saturday, November 23, 2024


Amir Khojasteh and Sabrina Mendoza Malavé on view with 'Diana, New York: A Room Without a Door'
Sabrina Mendoza Malavé, Fragmentado, 2020. Mixed Media Sculpture, 48 x 30.5 x 28 cm, 19 x 12 x 11 in.



DUBAI.- Amir Khojasteh and Sabrina Mendoza Malavé’s works currently on view at Carbon 12 at Diana, NY, intertwine on various levels. On the one hand, their respective countries – Iran and Venezuela – are incurring turbulent political situations. On the other hand, both artists touch those situations and include references to abstraction, pop culture, and poetry.

As is inherent to Khojasteh’s practice, references play a crucial part. Rather than directly relaying what is depicted in those references, the artist extracts what feels relevant. Similarly, Mendoza’s approach includes a candid commentary on the current landscape in Venezuela by using fragments and phrases that allude to the country’s political polarization and the natural infrastructural decay that occurred over time.

The resemblance of Khojasteh’s paintings to the reference images may be just a trace. Influenced by a wide array of images, such as portraits of iconic fighters, Art History, and, more recently, imagery from Iran and the religious icons from its pop culture, Khojasteh shapes an abstract narrative based on immediate feelings - far from imitation. Each portrait loses its real identity and is born into a new situation.

Khojasteh conveys a particular yet abstract situation in this new series of works: being stuck. An image of purgatory comes to mind when experiencing the artist’s impasto-heavy works as they mirror the current situation conspiring in Iran. The work balances a whirlwind of contradictory emotions and situations tied together by that common thread.

Using her practice as a tool to spread awareness about the socio-political turmoil occurring in Venezuela, Mendoza offers a critical perspective on international and national power structures and their impact on people. Referencing current and past events, she relays information that the media doesn’t necessarily portray, where the data is usually one-sided and misinterpreted.

Mendoza’s mixed media sculptural works directly reference artisanal clay houses that depict idealized home façades commonly sold as souvenirs in Latin America and are collected in heaps as decorative pieces. Their display in the space also indicates how these souvenirs are presented in homes: hung together, forming a small-town installation. The way the artist approaches these objects, however, is a complete contrast. Rather than clay, she uses recycled and found materials, and rather than idealized façades, she represents existing infrastructures in different barrios, showing graffiti, protests, decay, and signs of pollution.

The sculptures also make a poignant and acute commentary on how constant exposure to political slogans, protest signs, and media coverage have affected public opinion. By directly referencing these writings in a methodically more poetic way, she breaks down some slogans and inverts them to convey positive and critical messages about unity and understanding in hopes of encouraging contemplation and reconciliation between citizens.

The works of both these artists create a particular provocation by bringing to light and honestly representing the effects of the current political climates on the citizens of Iran and Venezuela. The artists provide a deeper insight into human nature by weighing the scales between rest and unrest, peace and chaos.

The exhibition began on April 20th, 2023 and will end on May 14th, 2023.










Today's News

April 24, 2023

Myers Fine Art to celebrate 35th anniversary April 30 auction of works from artists' estates

Early painting by Sir Alfred Munnings to be offered at Sloane Street Auctions

Exhibition explores how the intersection of science, art and sound is instrumental to our understanding of the world

Anderson Ranch Arts Center announces 2023 honorees and summer series lineup

In the footsteps of Charles III

Unlocking the 'Rosetta Stone' of a dying language

Amir Khojasteh and Sabrina Mendoza Malavé on view with 'Diana, New York: A Room Without a Door'

Artist Marina Pumani Brown, grandaughter of Milatjari Pumani, now on view at Gruin Gallery

Mika Horibuchi exhibits work at Patron Gallery in second solo event

Chrysler Museum of Art names new director of curatorial affairs

He lets his clothes do the peacocking for him

'Sylvia Plimack Mangold: Leaves in the Wind' at 125 Newbury in Tribeca

As a Coronation approaches, the merch comes fast

Eureka! After California's heavy rains, gold seekers are giddy.

Traditional Filipino wedding gowns go modern

Nye & Company told hold three-day, online-only Chic and Antique Estate Treasures auction

UNESCO City of Design Dundee appoints Stacey Hunter as curator of Dundee Design Festival 2024

Barry Humphries (Dame Edna to you, possums) is dead at 89

Philadelphia Museum of Art opens traveling retrospective devoted to the acclaimed photographer

Leonardo's ferry left high and dry by global warming and red tape

South Asian Muslims herald Eid al-Fitr with a night of communal revelry




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful