SPAZIO NOUR
PAINTINGS
Mahmoud Saleh Mohammadi's paintings have their raison d'être in their essentiality.
A formal and chromatic simplicity that appears silent, but at the same time dense with spirituality.
The unifying element of these works is a gold line, conceived as a symbolic part of a larger circle,
the circle of life.
Each painting contains a piece of this, as if to protect and elevate it into an ethereal, ideal space.
The shades of white and grey delicately spread on the canvas refer to the idea of a blank page on which it is still all to be written. The golden line thus is only the beginning of a narrative that will come to life precisely from that first sign.
Ma Collection
MA (間 )
Is a Japanese term that can be translated as "interval", "space", "pause" or "empty space between two structural elements." It is an aesthetic, philosophical and artistic concept, also frequently used in everyday life. It is also linked to the Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy, in which the doctrine of emptiness is central
MA, intended as "void full of meaning", used in art
«An imaginary room that is in an indefinite position between the sky and the earth, is said to be the original way to represent the concept of but. We imagine both spatial and temporal uncertainty simultaneously: the room is neither in one place nor in the other, it is in an indescribable space "
Delineating space spontaneously marks non-outlined voids, which is where freedom of interpretation and reflection can fill it up. This empty space is profoundly beautiful, full of mystery and promise. In significant ways the empty space contributes a unique quality of structure, balance and definition in a composition.
In this series, extra attention is paid to the structures and textures of original and natural materials, and organic shapes. For the beholder, the empty space is calming as well as energizing.
Historical iconography meets contemporary art, in geometric and organic forms and shapes inspired by the figurative narrative of historical Persian carpets, The colours seem to flow over the canvas, as if caught in one specific moment of transition. Stressing an unavoidable volalitity, inherent both of life and art, it is captured beautifully in a temporary eternity of an artwork.
Katibeh Collection
The word Katibeh in Persian, Mahmoud’s mother tongue, means inscription. The inscriptions referred to by this title are the Middle Persian texts carved, incised or engraved on durable materials like stone and metal. They were public messages intended to be permanent.
With his Katibeh-series, Mahmoud leaves an eternal impression by using unavoidably provisionally materials. Acrylic paint on canvas, embellished with Persian calligraphic elements made of gold, symbols and signs that result in abstract forms, to be considered as traces of a fracture that has been remedied.
This refers to the Japanese philosophy of kintsugi, namely the ancient, traditional practice of using liquid gold to repair broken objects with the idea that from imperfection and wounds can arise an even greater form of aesthetic and inner perfection.
As a thread throughout Mahmoud Saleh Mohammadi’s artistic practice runs the search for connections, between history, present and future of his own and other cultures of his encounter. He mixes the above explained historical, arbitrary but clear distinction between temporary and permanent functions of inscriptions on a visual, contemporary level, referring to his roots as a base and giving it a personal twist at the same time.
The Katibeh-series is a result of this historical knowledge, aesthetically translated and enriched with traditions of other cultures with both feet in contemporary art history. It is furthermore a result of meticulous work and patient practical artistic development which, step by step, found its way to its final form: modestly rich both in concept as in execution.
Golden line collection
This work of expressive painting is the incipit of the farsh path. Like when you take a blank sheet and write with ink the first thought, the introduction of the story that will come. The circle starts from here, the first fragments of the circle’s gold line are placed on these canvases. The circle of life or The gold line is a symbolic part of a large circle, Each picture contains in itself, as if to protect and enhance it, a piece of the circle. The canvas, or carpet, lights up under a golden line, like a body under a ray of light. Golden line, conceived as a symbolic part of a larger circle, The circle of life, Each painting contains a piece of this, as if to protect and elevate it into an ethereal, ideal space. The shades of white and blue delicately spread on the canvas refer to the idea of a blank page on which it is still all to be written, to cancel the concept of the time from painting and catch the moment and exist in the infinity of the moment.
Valentina Santoro
