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Lot Essay
In The Battle of So and So(2004), the generalised flowers and
plants Aram uses appear to grow from a flat landscape in which the
mottled ground resembles the jigsaw pattern of military camouflage,
while what serves as the sky is traversed by distinctly artificial clouds.
The clouds resemble the whorled condensations found in Persian
miniatures, stretched at their nether ends to evoke vapor trails, or
perhaps to manifest the barakain Islam, a psychic fluid said to
emanate from sacred objects. Similarly stylised clouds appear in pre-
Renaissance and Renaissance paintingsMantegnas, for example;
in Arams, they are among the recurring motifs that indicate crosscultural similarities: the garnish of depicted spirituality or states of exaltation.
The pictures Ive described, lush and appealing as they are, simply
indicate a direction, perform certain virtuosic operations, and fill
the eye with sometimes indigestible information. Aram wants to
complicate the question of where the viewer is in relation to the
image, and he does, though an impression of clutter distracts from
the strength of his line and his dexterous application of paint.
(G. Indiana, 'Kamrooz Aram', in Art in America, March 2009)
plants Aram uses appear to grow from a flat landscape in which the
mottled ground resembles the jigsaw pattern of military camouflage,
while what serves as the sky is traversed by distinctly artificial clouds.
The clouds resemble the whorled condensations found in Persian
miniatures, stretched at their nether ends to evoke vapor trails, or
perhaps to manifest the barakain Islam, a psychic fluid said to
emanate from sacred objects. Similarly stylised clouds appear in pre-
Renaissance and Renaissance paintingsMantegnas, for example;
in Arams, they are among the recurring motifs that indicate crosscultural similarities: the garnish of depicted spirituality or states of exaltation.
The pictures Ive described, lush and appealing as they are, simply
indicate a direction, perform certain virtuosic operations, and fill
the eye with sometimes indigestible information. Aram wants to
complicate the question of where the viewer is in relation to the
image, and he does, though an impression of clutter distracts from
the strength of his line and his dexterous application of paint.
(G. Indiana, 'Kamrooz Aram', in Art in America, March 2009)