The artwork depicts a close-up of a distorted, roughly painted baby face. The predominant color is a muted, pinkish-red hue, with visible brush strokes and textural imperfections across the surface. The subject matter appears unsettling, with exaggerated features and an almost doll-like quality. The style is expressive and abstracted, suggesting a raw, unrefined approach that creates a sense of unease. The artist's intention may have been to challenge traditional representations of childhood innocence and explore the uncanny nature of the human form. ...
Farrokh Mahdavi (b. 1970, Tehran, Iran) is a prolific painter. His works can be distinguished through the use of unique pinkish hues. His technique aims to reach "a more material meaning" by "omitting the impurities", defamiliarizing the well-known facial elements, and crossing over "cliché definitions". His works emphasize the fleshy-pink color, a color that covers his figures and allows the rendering of "a more general depiction of human beings devoid of stereotypes of gender and of race". The faces in Mahdavi's work are reduced to such features as the eyes or the lips, and the rest are covered by thick layers of pink paint, hinting at the emotional world of his characters. He tries to specify forms and conditions without directly depicting anything additional to that as he believes it deviates from the main point. ...
Dastan features an extensive and multi-dimensional program focusing on the full spectrum of Iranian contemporary and modern art. Dastan's program includes Dastan's Basement, +2, ParallelCircuit, Zaal Art Gallery, and Dastan:Outside. In addition to hosting exhibitions, Dastan publishes artist books and monographs on Iranian art, features film screenings, performance projects, and other events. Dastan's original space, Dastan’s Basement, was established in 2012 in Tehran, Iran. The Basement is dedicated to exhibiting emerging and cutting-edge Iranian art. +2 is a gallery launched by Dastan in 2015. This space showcases established Iranian artists and masters. Parallel Circuit aims to open the way for artists standing at the interstices of based and experimental art. Zaal Art Gallery is an international gallery in Ontario, Canada. The gallery provides an engaging and immersive space for both enthusiasts and professionals. Since opening its primary space in 2012, Dastan has continuously hosted pop-up curated exhibitions around the city of Tehran under the title Dastan:Outside. ...
