DARKNESS to BLISS18 September - 04 October
SHAHRZAD GHAFFARIDARKNESS to BLISS18 September - 04 OctoberGROSVENOR GALLERY21 Ryder StreetLondonSW1Y 6PX
CONTACT Conor MacklinCharles MooreKajoli Khanna
[email protected]+44 (0) 207 484 7979
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Darkness to Bliss reflects Shahrzad’s metamorphosis as an artist. Where once her art harnessed the clarity of legible words to bring a message into focus, it is now probing ever further into the realms of ambiguity and feeling. The word – the sacred logos of ancient calligraphy is stripped of its formality and dissolves into bold, swirling shapes. Radiant colours sweep across the canvas, spiraling into the heart of experience unchained. Oscillating between the primal and the poetic, the dance between word and impulse, between expression and intangible feeling, locks together into an elusive paradox that lies at the heart of the human condition. Internal meets external in a
INTRODUCTIONGrosvenor Gallery is pleased to announce our forthcoming exhibition Shahrzad Ghaffari, Darkness to Bliss
Darkness to Bliss is Shahrzad Ghaffari’s first solo exhibition in London and features new works by the artist. A descendant of the renowned Iranian painters Sani-ol-Molk Ghaffari and Kamal-ol-Molk Ghaffari,Shahrzad continues a family tradition that spans more than 150 years. Having exhibited in solo and group shows around the world, and been collected across continents, Shahrzad comes to London with a fresh body of work that maps abstract journeys through the complexities of love, emotion and spiritual conflict.
dissonant yet mesmerizing harmony that opens itself to subjective flows in the mind of the beholder. Darkness to Bliss is anything but a linear progression. There is no beginning and there is no end, just the infinite dualism that is the elemental core of unfathomable eternity. Love, loss, loneliness, sacrifice, yearning, surrender and ultimately redemption all draw their power from shades of the abstract. And in this series, Shahrzad distils beauty, melancholy and inspirational passion into silent reflection, touching the darkness and yet caressing fleeting bliss.
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Inspired by Rumi, the paintings of Shahrzad Ghaffari channel the elusive, mystical message of his poetry and weave them into a profound new visual language. The essence of her work explores Rumi’s timeless themes – the relationship of the soul to the divine, the lover to the beloved, and their yearning for physical and metaphysical unity where human love at its purest melts into the sacred.
Often captured in dazzling colours writhing through the abyss of the material world, her Naghashi Khat, or the painted word, sings the final moment of the dance of the Sama. There is a primal energy, a relief and a triumph as the painting seduces the viewer to stand witness to the blissful flight
of the soul as it soars towards the divine. The appeal of her work is instant and disarming. The viewer is drawn willingly and joyously into Rumi’s world of enlightenment, whirling through the heights of spiritual ecstasy. Yet each experience is different, each message at once intimate and universal, each story individual, each experience unique, and each fragment transformational.
Zahra Faridany Akhavan, PhD Islamic Art, Harvard University
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Everlasting Sun, 2013
Acrylic on canvas, diptychEach 70 x 70 cm. (27 ½ x 27 ½ in.)Total 70 x 140 cm. (27 ½ x 55 in.)
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Yearning, 2013
Acrylic on canvas91.5 x 61 cm. (36 x 24in.)
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Constant, 2013
Acrylic on canvas122 x 122 cm. (48 x 48in.)
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Defeated, 2013
Acrylic on aluminium67.5 x 77.5 cm. (26 ½ x 30 ½ in.)
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Your Eden, 2013
Acrylic and glitter on aluminium75 x 90 cm. (29 ½ x 35 ½ in.)
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Your Though, 2013
Acrylic on aluminum61 x 80 cm. (24 x 31 ½ in.)
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Raindrops on my dust, 2013
Acrylic on canvas91 x 91 cm. (35 ¾ x 35 ¾ in.)
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Edge of Madness, 2013
Acrylic on canvas, diptychEach 91 x 91 cm. (35 ¾ X 35 ¾ in.)Total 91 x 182cm. (35 ¾ x 71 ¾ in.)
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In the Midst of Darkness, Light Persists, 2013
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas DiptychEach 152 x 122 cm. (60 x 48in.)Total 152 x 244 cm. (60 x 96in.)
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Moonlight, 2013
Acrylic on canvas, diptychEach 40 x 40 cm. (15 ¾ x 15 ¾ in.)Total 40 x 80 cm. (15 ¾ x 31 ¼ in.)
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In Love / Insane- Rumi, 2012
Mixed media on canvas, diptychEach 61 x 61 cm. (24 x 24 in.)Total 61 x 122cm. (24 x 48 in.)
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Night, Day, Bliss, 2013
Acrylic on canvas, diptychEach 152 x 122 cm. (60 x 48in.)Total 152 x 244 cm. (60 x 96in.)
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Night, 2013
Mixed media on canvas183 x 122 cm. (72 x 48in.)
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Shelter me, 2013
Acrylic on canvas122 x122 cm. (48 x 48in.)
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Wave, 2013
Acrylic on canvas122 x 60.5cm. (48 x 23 ¾ in.)
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I am all Wisdom- Rumi, 2013
Acrylic on canvas122 x 122 cm. (48 x 48in.)
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I am all Life- Rumi, 2013
Acrylic on canvas122 x 122 cm. (48 x 48in.)
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I am all Love- Rumi, 2013
Acrylic on canvas122 x 122 cm. (48 x 48in.))
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Colouring the Void, 2013
Acrylic on canvas121.5 x 183 cm. (47 ¾ x 72in.)
BIOGRAPHYBorn in 1972, Shahrzad became serious about painting at the age of 12. As a descendant of the renowned Iranian painters Sani-ol-Molk Ghaffari and Kamal-ol-Molk Ghaffari, Shahrzad continues a family tradition that spans more than 150 years. After training under Mostafa Dashti in Tehran, she studied graphic design at Azad University until 1994. During that period she began displaying her work at many group exhibitions.
Shahrzad continued to paint, taking part in exhibitions in Kuching, Malaysia (1995) as well as two exhibitions in Vancouver, Canada (1997). Her recent works have been acquired privately by collectors in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East. In 2010 she took part in group exhibitions at the Golestan, Hanna and Haft Negah Galleries. In 2011 she held her first solo-show at the Golestan Gallery in Tehran, which received critical acclaim from the media and collectors, followed in 2012 by a successful exhibition in Paris at Galerie Nicolas Flamel.
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EXHIBITIONS: Kutching 1995
Vancouver 1997
SIMAB DESIGN STUDIO Tehran 2008
SIMAB DESIGN STUDIO Tehran 2009
HANNA GALLERY GROUP EXHIBITION Tehran 2010
GOLESTAN GALLERY GROUP EXHIBITION Tehran 2010
HAFT NEGAH GALLERIES GROUP EXHIBITION Tehran 2010
POPPLI KHALATBARI CHARITY AUCTION London 2010
GOLESTAN GALLERY SOLO EXHIBITION Tehran 2011
POPPLI KHALATBAI CHARITY AUCTION London 2011
GOLESTAN GALLERY GROUP EXHIBITION Tehran 2011
HAFT NEGAH GALLERIES GROUP EXHIBITION Tehran 2012
ICAM CHARITY AUCTION Monte Carlo 2012
NICOLAS FLAMEL GALLERY Paris 2012
IBS AUCTION London 2012
GROSVENOR GALLERY Art Dubai 2013
GROSVENOR GALLERY London 2013
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