Selected works by New York-based Iranian painter Kamran Yousefzadeh, known as Y. Z. Kami, 62, is hung at Ab-Anbar Art Gallery in Tehran.
Kami is known for referencing core concepts of different faiths and philosophies in his artworks. Though the subjects in his oeuvre span from painted portraits and spiritual subject matter to abstract concepts and architectural elements, the artist continually returns to themes of introspection, subjectivity and contemplation.
The exhibit opened on Friday and will run through June 15 at the venue located at No. 2, Roshanmanesh Alley, Khaghani Street, Enqelab Avenue. It is Kami’s first solo show in Iran, Honaronline reported on its Persian website.
A total of 12 paintings are featured. Kami has worked in a variety of artistic mediums including collage, photography, installation and sculpture, though he is mainly regarded as a painter.
“We tried to select one work from each of the artist’s working periods. Visitors will see portraits, hands, domes and even his earliest works,” director of the gallery Yasaman Matinfar said.
About the significance of his portraits, Kami had said earlier “when you go through the process of looking at a face and you meditate on it with pigments and brushes in hand, it is like living with the face. In a way, it becomes part of you.”
Matinfar added that during the exhibit Kami’s monograph will be published by Honar-Moasser Publication, affiliated to the Lajevardi Foundation, a cultural institution based in Tehran.
“In 400 pages, the monograph will be the most comprehensive book of his works. The image of each work is accompanied by two analytical paragraphs,” Matinfar said.
The artist monograph also contains a note about Kami’s works written by American curator, art critic, painter and writer Robert Storr who curated a 2007 exhibit of the artist’s works. The book also has an article written by essayist, translator and art critic Babak Ahmadi.
Making the Invisible Visible
Kami is a self-taught artist. “I admire him for attempting to make the invisible visible by presenting the visages of men and women whose gazes, averted from ours, have been directed inward (as if they are looking inside themselves rather than watching the audience),” Storr said about Ahmadi’s portraits.
With the warm, flesh-toned hues of his palette and the soft detailing of his brushwork, the artist creates portraits of an enveloping warmth and intimacy. For Kami, painting is a medium for populating the world with the basic truth of our common humanity.
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