Behnam Kamrani (Iran, 1968)Senza titolo dalla serie ‘Ascension’ Mixed media su carta 70 x 50 cm

Behnam Kamrani is an Iranian multidisciplinary artist, designer, curator, art critic and academic.He displayed his work in fourteen solo shows and in more than three hundred group exhibitions in Iran and around the world. He also co-curated the Shanghai Biennial and organised a number of exhibitions on the work of famous modern and contemporary Iranian artists in important galleries in Tehran.‘My visual world is affected by both Eastern and Western visual culture and I have used both wherever necessary. My earliest works were so much inspired by Iranian painting tradition.’ In this artwork the artist explores the dichotomy between good and evil, between light and darkness. In the centre is a tree that divides the canvas into two parts. It rises from the earth and its branches reach the sky, represented by a thin line of light blue colour. The tree is a highly symbolic representation of the tree of life and is flanked, on the left by an angel, and on the right by a jinn, a supernatural entity, which in most cases has an evil character, only on some occasions, also shows a benevolent and protective side. Provenance: the owner had it directly from the artist.