Lot 82: Untitled

Hossein Kazemi (Iranian, 1924-1996) Untitled oil and gesso on plywood 35 3/8 x 43¼in. (90 x 110cm.) Painted circa late 1970s

90 x 110cm.

circa

Mah Art Gallery, Tehran. Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2013.

Although Hossein Kazemi started his career as a figurative painting (see lot 83 in the present sale), his earlier works have caught the eye of collectors since decades. From 1961 onwards, Kazemi experimented with pure forms and abstraction and applied various materials including paint, plastofoam and acid onto the surface of his works to create an expressive effect of texture. His abstract paintings become in the process his imaginary landscapes. As an artist who believes in the dualistic philosophy of Mithraism, Kazemi attempts through his compositions to bond the earthly and heavenly principes in order to attain harmony. His Flower and Stone series of which the present work is a charming example were painted in the late 1970s. Although abstract, they are inspired by human beings, gradually turning into flowers and stones. This mutual bond between Man and Nature becomes a metaphor for the primary dualities between Man and Woman, femininity and masculinity. The present work, alike others from this series, becomes an image of a celestial space crystallised through imaginative textures and colours. Hossein Kazemi, amongst the pioneers of Iranian Modern art, left Tehran for Paris in the mid-1980s and settled there until his death in 1996. His works are held in prestigious private and public collections.