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Flowers and Letters in Iran Painter’s UK Exhibit

Two of the featured paintings from ‘Sick Rose’ (L)  and ‘Letters’ series
Two of the featured paintings from ‘Sick Rose’ (L)  and ‘Letters’ series

Iranian painter Azadeh Razaqdoust’s first solo exhibition in the UK is underway at Sophia Contemporary Gallery in Mayfair, London.

The exhibit presents 15 recent paintings by Razaqdoust, according to the website of gallery sophiacontemporary.com.

Titled ‘Recipe for a Poem’, the exhibition which opened on November 24, also comprises works from two of her painting series ‘Sick Rose’ and ‘Letters’.

Razaqdoust’s works are influenced by the poem ‘The Sick Rose’ composed in 1794 by British poet William Blake, as well as the poetry collection ‘Les Fleurs du Mal’, published in 1857 by French poet Charles Baudelaire.

Contradictions inherent to human nature are at the core of the artist’s work, which she conveys in sensual, lyrical and allegorical language, the gallery website said.

By focusing on the emotional properties of the color red, a leitmotif in the artist’s oeuvre, she evokes poetic associations with love, passion and blood in order to explore contrasting existential states and impulses: health and sickness, life and death, love and passion.

With frequent use of flowers and letters, Razaqdoust, 36, explores the vanishing concepts of blossom and transience. By interrogating the essential tensions underpinning existence and exploring the emotive properties of color, she creates a truly poetic and idiosyncratic visual language at the confluence of life’s most fundamental impulses, the gallery said.

The exhibition will run through February 10, 2017.

 Works in Permanent Collection

Razaqdoust is based in Karaj, Alborz Province. She has a bachelor’s degree in painting from Tehran’s University of Art. Some of her works are in the permanent collection of the Vall Palou Foundation, Lleida in Spain. Vallpalou Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 2008 to promote the enjoyment and critical perception of contemporary art.

Razaqdoust has also held exhibitions at the Kunstzeughaus Museum in Zurich and Isfahan Museum of Contemporary Art.

Sophia Contemporary Gallery exhibits, represents and supports a diverse roster of emerging and established artists from the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia working in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, video and photography.

The gallery is committed to nurturing the careers of artists from both East and West with a view to promote a creative global dialogue in contemporary art beyond cultural boundaries.

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