FIGURATIVE SERIES

Mashian’s Abstract Figurative Series is her most personal and is an homage to the dichotomies of what it means to be feminine: soft and bold, fluid and stalwart, vulnerable and invincible. Her approach to the feminine form evolves from symbolist collage to a modern interpretation of the feminine figure. Mashian’s work with live models ignited the Femme series, addressing the universal themes of feminine fortitude and fierceness, and at the same time is the latest configuration celebrating the female form a subject of myriad artworks since the age of antiquity

“The figurative images of women are lush and highly textured – like all of the work here, they are mixed media paintings, large and yet intimate, layered with resin, glitter, gels, fabric, paper, jewels, and beads; or as Mashian describes her work, “Whatever moves me. I wanted all of them to be in a jewel tone because…of the richness of being a woman. We have a lot going for us.”

– Haleh Mashian: Meditative Magic, Diversions LA

Mashian’s multi-layered approach to her canvases involves acrylic paint applied and re-applied, scraped off and re-added, with the inclusion of an array of materials to render a physicality to her surfaces. As a result, Mashian’s feminine figures reflect both a defined presence and a phantasmagoric reverie that emphasize how women are adept at inhabiting multiple spaces, varied lives, and an amalgam of identities.

Mashian’s process of technique divulges the inherent fluidity in the nature of the feminine, juxtaposing the constant duality of woman’s quintessence: the soft and the bold, the flexible and the stalwart, the vulnerable and the invincible.