Is art just pleasing to the eyes or is there more to it?
Art can convey spirituality says Farideh Zariv whose art exhibition titled Word in Art, inaugurated by Her Highness Sayyida Afra Talal al Said, is being held at Cure8Art, Grand Hyatt Muscat.
In the current collection of work on exhibition Farideh uses the aesthetic power of Arabic and Persian letters in her paintings.
“The modern world needs spirituality and perhaps the task of today’s artist is to recreate by bringing in contemporary spirituality by rediscovering the magic of spirituality in the ancient art and reusing it in the modern world,”she said.
According to her the shape of Arabic and Persian letters is a symbol of culture, art and power of civilizations.
The exhibition consists of a collection of works that is being exhibited for the first time in Oman, and the present book consists of her earlier works.
“My quest is to showcase the rich Middle Eastern culture and heritage. One of the most sought-after style in Middle Eastern art is calligraphy, whether for Arab-speaking or Persian-speaking artists. In some of these works I have used Arabic and Qur’anic alphabets, and in others Persian letters and Persian poems, which are an integral part of our visual arts heritage. And it has always had an impact on the identity of the Middle Eastern artist. In this collection of work I have tried different techniques and materials, which have been the result of many years of experience, the Persian and Arabic letters being part of the identity and culture of the two lands, and in this work I have been searching for the aesthetic structure of the letters in visual expression,” said the Australian/Iranian Artist Farideh Zariv, Art Curator
And Gallery Art Director.
The exhibition will be on until 15 of January, 2022 from 11 am to 6 pm. On Sunday night, during the opening ceremony her book was also launched. The book showcases about 30 of her art works and comments and notes on her work from other artists of different nationalities. This is her second solo exhibition in Oman, the previous one being at Bait al Zubair in 2017.
The role of the ‘word’ is very important in human life says Dr Nasser Palangi,Associate Professor at Scientific College of Design and Art.
“It is the source of human civilizations, the source of the growth of new sciences, ideas, and religions, and the source of human guidance and awareness. To the extent that human life is divided into “historical” and “prehistoric” periods by genesis, lineage and word. For this reason, writing was the beginning of the history of human life and the time when man could embed his life story on the pages and remember a line on a page or the like. The word preserves the science and education of scientists, the link between past and future intellectuals, and even the connection between heaven and earth through the word.
However, these thoughts, which liberate people from darkness and ignorance, transmit hope and victory,” said Dr Palangi.
“Her art takes you on a deep journey to discover the ancient spirit of the East using classic words and figures to create a beautiful rhythm on the surface. Calligraphic elements stimulate them with new meanings associated with contemporary themes and understanding,” Hassan Mir, Artist and Artistic Director, Studio Stal.
Abdulrauf Ralph Wood describes, “Words : they record the Past, facilitate the Present and forecast the Future.”
He added,
“The Persian and Arabic letters emerge from a skillfully constructed colour palette which gives movement and direction to letters, conventionally static, suggesting fluid meanings in the mind of the observer.
Drawing them into the world the artist has created without anticipating the rout or destination of each individual ‘thought journey ‘.”
Beverley Wood, Former Art Teacher, Lecturer University of Canberra, Australia describes Farideh’s work thus, “ The abstract appearance of the image sits well in a contemporary art world but the level of meaning puts it into a higher level of understanding. Her cultural roots are on display as well as an understanding of the contemporary nature of art. Making the Word in visual form continues today through this new exhibition which successfully shows an ageless form of art asserting itself across both the Western and Middle Eastern cultures and art societies.”
