Afshin Pirhashimi's Paintings at Seyhun Gallery

As I walked down Vezara Street towards Seyhun Gallery, I doubted whether I could prepare a report on the new exhibition taking place in that gallery. I wondered if Afshin Pirhashimi's paintings would be like many works of young Iranian artists, repetitive and devoid of content, making them uninteresting to view. In these thoughts and prejudices, I arrived at Seyhun Gallery. Do you know what the first word that came to my lips upon encountering the works of this young artist was? 'Bravo.' Afshin Pirhashimi, born in 1974 and a student of painting at Azad University, is one of those young and very active Iranian artists who has managed, through great effort and hard work, to achieve an acceptable and unique style for his paintings. The recent exhibition, which includes 10 black and white pieces and has no title, is considered his fortieth group and solo exhibition. This exhibition is held from January 18 to 23 (28 Dey to 3 Bahman) at Seyhun Gallery in Tehran. In his works, Pirhashimi has tried to approach photography as closely as possible, resembling social documentary. It seems he has looked at his surroundings through the lens of a camera and depicted it in the form of black and white collages. The atmosphere of this artist's paintings is very surreal and mysterious, and indeed, characters (mostly women and fewer men) are trapped in them. In fact, it could be said that the hallmark of the works in this exhibition is the sense of astonishment, sorrow, and wonder that is evident in the faces of each character. For instance, in one painting, we encounter the face of a girl who has her head in her hands and is positioned in the lower right corner of the piece, while in the upper left corner, a single dry and barren tree is placed. The space between these two subjects is completely white and empty, unconsciously evoking a sense of loneliness in the viewer. In another much larger painting, a girl is seen standing in Persepolis with her back to the columns (standing in the left corner of the frame). She gazes into the distance, and her relatively short hair dances in the wind. In the collection of works in this exhibition, Christ is also present. A crucified Christ, who, however, does not have a cross behind him, and only his body has taken on the form of the crucified. His face is not complete and is only drawn up to above his lip, with the rest of his face hidden. In another work, Pirhashimi depicts a large room of a luxurious house with European classic furniture and decor, where a man and woman dressed in Renaissance clothing can also be seen in one corner. Interestingly, an Eastern woman, ghost-like, with a white chador (her long hair protruding from under the chador) stands in the middle of the room holding a daf with a mournful and sorrowful expression. The Eastern woman's lack of belonging to that environment is very thought-provoking. Ms. Masoumeh Seyhun, the gallery director, has written a piece alongside Afshin Pirhashimi's works, in which encouragement and praise resonate in every line. Ms. Seyhun believes that many Iranian painters should, like Pirhashimi, explore new ways to create their works, thus ending four decades of continuous repetition. Arash Irani for the Internet Unit, Persian Section of Voice of America.