Farah Atassi

Farah Atassi creates large-scale paintings which combine the influence of Modernism and Folk Art. Abstract and figurative components collide in her canvases, with central figures or still life scenes situated within phantasmal surroundings. Heightening the emotional crux of the central subject, Atassi’s hallucinatory backgrounds draw out the expressions and sensorial quality of the principal image. Brass instruments are presented with sporadic, notational markings, whilst a female bather is accompanied with more contemplative, softer gestures. The intoxicating spatial dynamics that Atassi works with echoes the heady perspective championed by the Cubists. The works themselves are made with oil paint and enamel, developing via a masking tape grid laid out to bring a sense of order to Atassi’s heady mosaic of imagery. Each work is delivered in concrete, vivid hues and the figurative elements are drafted in bold, graphic registers. In the artist’s own words, she creates “figurative paintings that depict abstraction”. Enrapturing to encounter, Atassi’s has conjured a distinctive realm of her own to work in, creating dizzying and electric paintings which demand the viewer’s attention. ...

Since 2009, François Ghebaly has presented an innovative, eclectic program of Los Angeles-based and international artists. With a history of identifying and championing diverse voices and emerging talent, the gallery’s roster has grown to include 27 artists and 2 artist estates, ranging from early career, such as Sharif Farrag and Ludovic Nkoth, to mid-career, like Christine Sun Kim, Meriem Bennani, Kelly Akashi, Farah Al Qasimi, and Genesis Belanger, to well established, including Sayre Gomez, Kathleen Ryan, Neïl Beloufa and Candice Lin as well as underground legends, like Patrick Jackson and Mike Kuchar. The gallery advances the reach of its artists’ visions by publishing exhibition catalogues and producing artist editions. Located since 2013 in a 12,000 square foot warehouse space in Downtown Los Angeles, the gallery is a mainstay of the burgeoning Arts District community, and recently expanded to New York's Lower East Side. François Ghebaly’s program demonstrates a commitment to challenging work across all media and to fostering the progressive, boundary-pushing practices of its artists. ...