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GALLERY MISSION Established in 2000, Sundaram Tagore Gallery is devoted to examining the exchange of ideas between Western and non-Western cultures. We focus on developing exhibitions and hosting not-for-profit events that encourage spiritual, social and aesthetic dialogues. In a world where communication is instant and cultures are colliding and melding as never before, our goal is to provide venues for art that transcend boundaries of all sorts. With alliances across the globe, our interest in cross-cultural exchange extends beyond the visual arts into many other disciplines, including poetry, literature, performance art, film and music.
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Iranian artist Golnaz Fathi, who divides her time between formation. This is the calligrapher’s practice sheet Tehran and Paris, presents new and recent paintings and the letters are not meant to form legible words or on canvas for her debut solo exhibition in Hong Kong. convey meaning, but rather strengthen the skill and the hand of the scribe. For Fathi, this is the most artistic Drawing on her extensive training as a classical aspect of the revered tradition of calligraphy because calligrapher, Fathi uses texts and letters as formal each sheet has a degree of freedom and uniqueness elements, transforming traditional calligraphy into a unseen in the finished script. personal artistic language. Using fine pen, mostly on varnished raw, rectangular, polyptych canvases, Drawing inspiration from various Western and Eastern Fathi draws thousands of minute marks that echo the sources, including American Abstract Expressionism, curvilinear forms of calligraphic letters and words. as well as the work of Iranian and Middle Eastern modernists who pioneered the use of the written word The basis of Fathi’s current practice is a reinterpretation as a pictorial element in the late 1950s and early of siah-mashq or “black practice,” a traditional exercise 1960s, Fathi transforms siah-mashq into intricate in which the calligrapher writes large, cursive letters compositions. Lines coalesce across, up, down and repeatedly across the page in a dense, semi-abstract off the edge of the canvas. The compositions are a
Untitled (detail), 2014, pen and varnish on canvas, 57.5 x 50.4 x 2 inches/146 x 128 x 5 cm
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result of intense time commitment and mental and physical dedication, as well as a form of meditation. To viewers, they become polysemic and are often read as landscapes, electronic transmissions or atmospheric phenomena. Fathi encourages free reign of interpretation and prevents preconceived notions by refraining from giving titles to her works. Prior to working with pen on canvas, Fathi worked with acrylic in the form of action painting, creating large, gestural brushstrokes in a limited palette of red, blue and yellow. A recent development in her practice is the pairing of these approaches. The color and sweeping brushstrokes represent an impulsive feeling she feels compelled to translate; the monochromatic areas represent calmness. By skillfully combining these elements, she has created a distinctive visual language with universal appeal.
Society of Calligraphy. For six years she underwent a rigorous and disciplined study to master the ancient script before establishing her own style of working. She is the recipient of the Best Woman Calligraphist in Ketabat Style, Iranian Society of Calligraphy, in recognition of her achievements as a young female calligrapher in a field traditionally dominated by men. Golnaz Fathi has works in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the British Museum, London; The World Bank, Washington D.C.; Brighton & Hove Museum, England; Carnegie Mellon University, Doha; the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur; the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore; and The Farjam Collection, Dubai.
The artist’s work is currently on view in Frontiers Reimagined, a collateral event of the 56th Venice Born in Tehran in 1972, Golnaz Fathi has a Bachelor Biennale, at the Museo di Palazzo Grimani (www. of Arts in Graphic Design from Azad University, Tehran, frontiersreimagined.org). and a Diploma in Iranian Calligraphy from the Iranian
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Untitled, 2015, acrylic and pen on canvas, 11.8 x 23.6 inches/30 x 60 cm 10
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Untitled, 2011, pen and varnish on canvas, 39.4 x 39.4 inches/100 x 100 cm each 12
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Untitled, 2014, acrylic, pen and varnish on canvas, 57.5 x 50.4 x 2 inches/146 x 128 x 5 cm
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Untitled, 2011, pen and varnish on canvas, 27.6 x 110.2 inches/70 x 280 cm 16
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Untitled, 2014, acrylic and pen on canvas, 57.7 x 49.1 inches/147 x 125 cm
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Untitled, 2014, acrylic, pen and varnish on canvas, 57.5 x 50.4 x 2 inches/146 x 128 x 5 cm
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Untitled, 2014, pen and varnish on canvas, 57.5 x 50.4 x 2 inches/146 x 128 x 5 cm
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Untitled, 2014, acrylic, pen and varnish on canvas, 70.9 x 159.5 x 2 inches/180 x 405 x 5 cm 24
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Untitled, 2011, pen and varnish on canvas, 57.5 x 50.4 inches/146 x 128 cm
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Untitled, 2011, pen on canvas, satin varnish, 47.2 x 47.2 inches/120 x 120 cm
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Untitled, 2014, acrylic, pen and varnish on canvas, 57.5 x 50.4 x 2 inches/146 x 128 x 5 cm
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Untitled, 2014, pen and varnish on canvas, 50.4 x 57.5 x 2 inches/128 x 146 x 5 cm
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Untitled, 2011, pen and varnish on canvas, 70.9 x 70.9 inches/180 x 180 cm
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Untitled, 2014, acrylic, pen and varnish on canvas, 57.5 x 50.4 x 2 inches/146 x 128 x 5 cm
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Untitled, 2015, acrylic and pen on canvas, 11.8 x 23.6 inches/30 x 60 cm 38
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GOLNAZ FATHI Born in Tehran, 1972 Lives and works in Tehran EDUCATION 1996 Diploma in Iranian Calligraphy, Iranian Society of Calligraphy, Tehran 1995 Bachelor of Arts in Graphics, Azad Art University, Tehran 1990 Secondary Studies Degree, Tehran SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2015 Every Breaking Wave, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Hong Kong 2014 Dance Me to the End of Night, October Gallery, London 2013 The Living Road, Pearl Lam Galleries, Shanghai Golnaz Fathi, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York Falling Leaves, The Third Line, Dubai 2010 Liminal-Subliminal, October Gallery, London Controlled Chaos, The Third Line, Dubai Ride Like the Wind, Sultan Gallery, Kuwait 2009 Doha Series, The Third Line, Doha 2008 My Freedom, Xerxes Gallery, London Sleepless Nights, The Third Line, Dubai 2007 Beyond Words, La Fontaine Centre of Contemporary Art, Bahrain 2006 Golnaz Fathi, The Third Line, Dubai 2005 Espace SD, Beirut Un-Written, The Third Line, Dubai Virtual Painting Exhibition, ArtəEast, New York Espace SD, Beirut Maison des Jeunes et de la Culture de Neuilly, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France 2004 Agence Le Carré Bleu, Paris Galerie L’Oeil du Huit, Paris Golestan Gallery, Tehran 2002 Golestan Gallery, Tehran 2000 Golestan Gallery, Tehran Shahr-e-Ketab Bookstore of Niavaran, Tehran 1999 Seyhoon Gallery, Tehran 1998 Seyhoon Gallery, Tehran
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SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2015 Frontiers Reimagined, 56th Venice Biennale, Museo di Palazzo Grimani Writing Non-Writing: The Third Hangzhou International Modern Calligraphy Exhibition, China Academy of Art, Hangzhou Dubai International Arabic Calligraphy Exhibition, Wafi Shopping Mall 2014 Approaches to Tradition: Neo-Traditionalism in Contemporary Iranian Art, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art Marked: Contemporary Takes on Mark-Making, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Hong Kong 35 Years of Transvangarde: Contemporary art from around the planet, October Gallery, London Marked: Contemporary Takes on Mark-Making, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York 2013 Nun Wa Al Qalam: Contemporary Muslim Calligraphy, Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur Qalam: The Art of Beautiful Writing, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, United Kingdom To Be a Lady, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Singapore 8 Women / 8 Stories, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Hong Kong 2012 Alternative View: Three Generations of Iranian Women, Mellat Gallery, Tehran Written Images, Contemporary Calligraphy from the Middle East, curated by Karin von Roques, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Hong Kong The Other Half of Iran, SEM-ART Gallery, Monaco World Stories: Young Voices, Brighton Museum, United Kingdom Masters of the Transvangarde, October Gallery, London The Elephant in the Dark, Devi Art Foundation, New Delhi 2011 Written Images, Contemporary Calligraphy from the Middle East, curated by Karin von Roques, iSundaram TagoreiGallery, New York The Art of Writing, Art Forum of Wiesbaden, Germany Transvangarde (contemporary art from around the world), October Gallery, London 2010 Iran Inside Out, Farjam Collection, Dubai 2009 International Women Artists’ Biennale, Korea Iran Inside Out, Chelsea Art Museum, New York Selseleh/Zelseleh: Movers & Shakers in Contemporary Iranian Art, curated by Layla S. Diba, Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller, Leila Heller Gallery, New York
2008 Look What Love Has Done to Us, Cramer Gallery, Geneva Word Into Art: Artists of the Modern Middle East, British Museum at DIFC, curated by Venetia Porter, Dubai 2007 Cutting Edge: Spotlight on the Avant-Garde of Emerging Countries, Artcurial, Paris Collected Memories, ArtSpace Gallery, London Within and Without, No More Grey Gallery, London Mah Gallery, Tehran Unnamed Gallery, Amman, Jordan Wishes and Dreams, Meridian International Center, Washington D.C. Art Paris Art Fair, Grand Palais Niavaran Artistic Creation Foundation, Tehran 2006 Transit, Istanbul Improvisation Days, Istanbul Don O’Melveney Gallery, Los Angles Word Into Art: Artists of the Modern Middle East, the British Museum, London Ninth International Open Exhibition, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago 2005 Espace SD, Beirut Mah Gallery, Tehran Italian School of Tehran, Iran 2004 Depot Square Gallery, Boston Elga Wimmer Gallery, New York Fatima Gallery, Tehran Italian School of Tehran, Iran Royal Mirage Hotel, Dubai 2003 Williams Tower Gallery, Houston, Texas Sixth Tehran Contemporary Painting Biennial, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art Italian School of Tehran, Iran The National Arts Club, New York Lo Sguardo di Luce, Padova, Italy New Art from Iran, ArtCentre of Plano, Texas New Art from Iran, Museum of Arts and Science, Daytona Beach, Florida 2002 Golestan Gallery, Tehran Don O’Melveney Gallery, Los Angles New Art from Iran, Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont New Art from Iran, Queens Library Gallery, New York 2001 La Maison du Livre, Brussels Hôtel de Ville de Saint-Gilles, Belgium Golestan Gallery, Tehran Courtyard Gallery, Dubai Meridian International Center, Washington DC 2000 Azteca Gallery, Madrid Seyhoun Gallery, Tehran 1998 Seyhoun Gallery, Tehran 1997 First Islamic World Calligraphy Festival, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art Seyhoun Gallery, Tehran 1996 Calligraphy Exhibition, Reza Abbasi Museum, Tehran Calligraphy Exhibition, Seyhoun Gallery, Tehran 1995 Exhibition of Art University Students, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art 1994 Exhibition for Iranian Women Painters, Turkey
1993 Second Painting and Miniature Exhibition, Tehran Exhibition Centre Second Tehran Contemporary Painting Biennial, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art HONORS & AWARDS 2012 2011 2010 2007 2004 2003 1995 1993
Visiting artist at Art Campus, Meissen Porcelain Factory, Germany Young Global Leader Honoree, The World Economic Forum Selection Committee, Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial Residence Scholarship, Fabrica, Treviso, Italy Residence Scholarship, Cité Internationale des Arts Paris Residence Scholarship, Cité Internationale des Arts Paris Best Woman Calligraphist in Ketabat Style, Iranian Society of Calligraphy, Tehran Diploma of Honour in Graphics and Painting, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
SELECTED COLLECTIONS World Bank, Washington, D.C. Pasargad Bank, Tehran ENB Bank, Tehran Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Brighton & Hove Museum, Brighton Carnegie Mellon University, Doha Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur The Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore The British Museum, London Devi Art Foundation, New Delhi The Farjam Collection, Dubai Salsali Foundation, Dubai SELECTED PUBLICATIONS 2012 The Elephant in the Dark, (New Delhi: Devi Art Foundation) 2011 A New Art from Emerging Artists, Iain Robertson (London: Lund Humphries) The Art of Writing, Heinz Kroehl (Germany: Kehrer Verlag) 2010 Art of the Middle East: Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World and Iran, Saeb Eigner (London: Merrell Publishers) 2009 Iran Inside Out: Influences of Homeland and Diaspora on the Artistic Language of Contemporary Iranian Artists, Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath (New York: Chelsea Art Museum) Contemporary Art in the Middle East: Artworld, Nadine Monem, editor (London: Black Dog Publishing) Different Sames: New Perspectives in Contemporary Iranian Art, Hossein Amirsadeghi, Anthony Downey, Mark Irving, and Hamid Keshmirshekan (London: Thames and Hudson) 2008 Arabesque: Graphic Design From the Arab World and Persia, Ben Wittner and Sascha Thoma, editors (Berlin: DieiGestalten Verlag) 2006 Word Into Art: Artists of the Modern Middle East, Venetia Porter (London: British Museum)
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SUNDARAM TAGORE GALLERIES new york new york hong kong singapore
547 West 27th Street, New York, NY 10001 • tel 212 677 4520 fax 212 677 4521 • gallery@sundaramtagore.com 1100 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10028 • tel 212 288 2889 57-59 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong • tel 852 2581 9678 fax 852 2581 9673 • hongkong@sundaramtagore.com 5 Lock Road 01-05, Gillman Barracks, Singapore 108933 • tel 65 6694 3378 • singapore@sundaramtagore.com
President and curator: Sundaram Tagore Director, New York: Susan McCaffrey Director, Hong Kong: Faina Derman Designer: Russell Whitehead Contributing editors: Kieran Doherty and Esther Bland Art consultants: Teresa Kelley, Gabrielle Mattox, Raj Sen, Melanie Taylor, Addison Ying, Chelsea Zhao
WWW.SUNDARAMTAGORE.COM Text © 2015 Sundaram Tagore Gallery Photographs © Golnaz Fathi All rights reserved under international copyright conventions. No part of this catalogue may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Cover: Untitled, 2014, acrylic and pen on canvas, 57.7 x 49.1 inches/147 x 125 cm