Lot Essay
Following his acclaimed Jar paintings in which he mimicked aged Persian ceramics (as seen in lot 18), Farhad Moshiri began his Numeral series of which the present work is a fine example.
The artist manipulates again the canvas and uses his ingenious ageing technique in an attempt to create a crackled and flaked effect resulting in a lavishly textured work. But the antique imagery has led the way to Abjad numericals, an ancient clerical code correlating letters and numerals in which the 'alif' represents the number 'one'. The repetitive pattern painted by the artist recalls the binary codes used in computing and telecommunication since Modern Times and the work hence questions the polarities between past and present, East and West. Binary Codes on faded background vacillates between the Middle-Eastern heritage of Farhad Moshiri and the Western consumerism that surrounds him. Regardless of its highly decorative and stylized appearance, the work is imbued with the artist's reflection and his observation of the contemporary world. It subtly reconciles the Ancient and the Modern through an elegant composition in earthly hues, in which Western aesthetics of Abstract Expressionism and Conceptual Art are fused with the traditional Islamic iconography. Beyond a mere abstract and minimal composition, Binary Codes on faded background conveys a social commentary on the hybrid society Farhad Moshiri lives in.
Farhad Moshiri has used various techniques and mediums throughout his career, as observed in the four works to be sold in the sale. Through a rich and diverse palette, he has created his own fantasy world, but behind each of his joyful and highly aestheticized works lies a cynical and sarcastic viewpoint on history and society.
The artist manipulates again the canvas and uses his ingenious ageing technique in an attempt to create a crackled and flaked effect resulting in a lavishly textured work. But the antique imagery has led the way to Abjad numericals, an ancient clerical code correlating letters and numerals in which the 'alif' represents the number 'one'. The repetitive pattern painted by the artist recalls the binary codes used in computing and telecommunication since Modern Times and the work hence questions the polarities between past and present, East and West. Binary Codes on faded background vacillates between the Middle-Eastern heritage of Farhad Moshiri and the Western consumerism that surrounds him. Regardless of its highly decorative and stylized appearance, the work is imbued with the artist's reflection and his observation of the contemporary world. It subtly reconciles the Ancient and the Modern through an elegant composition in earthly hues, in which Western aesthetics of Abstract Expressionism and Conceptual Art are fused with the traditional Islamic iconography. Beyond a mere abstract and minimal composition, Binary Codes on faded background conveys a social commentary on the hybrid society Farhad Moshiri lives in.
Farhad Moshiri has used various techniques and mediums throughout his career, as observed in the four works to be sold in the sale. Through a rich and diverse palette, he has created his own fantasy world, but behind each of his joyful and highly aestheticized works lies a cynical and sarcastic viewpoint on history and society.