AOTM (September)
-MARYAM EIVAZI-
Stickers Series, 2016
It’s the end of September and with that an AOTM. This months artist, Maryam Eivazi, is renowned for her bright, abstract, mixed media paintings. Through her work, Eivazi has stated how she aims to convey an ‘experience of freedom’ (Eivazi, M. (2023). I have looked into her in support of my own creative practice as I begin to question personal, yet universal, experiences and how these can be communicated into a visual form.
Dastan Gallery comments on how Eivazi’s work consists of ‘fragmented human forms’ and ‘everyday objects’ . The fragmented aspect of the human form can allude to the chaos of human lives and how we can lack control over our thoughts, responses or ways that we are perceived. However, through a feminine lens, the fragmentation can suggest to a lack of autonomy and power for women as the bodies are broken up and have lost any sense of control as they are strewn wildly across the canvas. In addition to this, the ‘everyday objects’ are not easily recognisable. Despite this, the viewer knows they are, even if they do not know what the object is. Perhaps then the ‘everyday objects’ are a metaphor for everyday female experiences; not always obvious but felt and silently acknowledged.
Eivazi uses a combination of acrylic and oil paint, oil stick and crayon to create her large scale pieces. This appears to be a playful approach as she is able to experiment with various techniques and processes, emanating scenes of liveliness and energy. Each untiled series having a distinct colour palette. To me, the expressive, bright colour strongly conveys her sense of freedom and aims to reclaim the playfulness and fun of womanhood and human life. I do not think her paintings romanticise these perspectives due to the bold, expressive markmaking, signs and symbols with each painting.
Untitled, Untitled Series, 2022
Furthermore, an article from the Ruttkowski;68 Gallery exclaims that ‘[Eivazi’s] painting functions as language that allows the expression of contexts without censorship in a society marked by restriction and repression’ (Ruttkowski;68. (2023). Eivazi’s work acts as an outlet for emotion and energy - both negative and positive - communicating experience, emotion and thought. She translate human feeling onto a canvas. additionally, the mixed media approach further conveys the muddled unclear perspectives on life that we all experience daily.
References:
Dastan Gallery. (2023) Maryam Eivazi. Available at: https://dastan.gallery/artists/244-maryam-eivazi/ (Accessed: 19 September 2023).
Eivazi, M. (2023) About Maryam Eivazi. Available at: https://maryameivazi.com/about/ (Accessed: 17 September 2023).
Ruttkowski;68. (2023) Maryam Eivazi . Available at: https://www.ruttkowski68.com/exhibition/maryam-eivazi/ (Accessed: 19 September 2023).
