Farrokh Mahdavi
Photo: courtesy of the artist
Farrokh Mahdavi
Iran born 1970
Ground Level
NGV International
View on map
PROJECT
Farrokh Mahdavi’s symbolic use of pink comes from the translation of the Persian word for ‘pink’: ‘soorati’, named after ‘soorat’, which refers to the ‘face’. In Untitled, pink is the universal colour of our flesh; it transcends politics, race, nationality, territoriality and gender. On the floor are ‘rejectamenta’ paintings considered flawed and no longer ‘work’. Visitors are encouraged to walk over, contributing to the artwork with the dust on their feet. In a world conditioned to strive for success, the artist asks us to consider the uncertainty of our time – and whether we look again, inside each other to find our common ground.
ABOUT
Iranian painter Farrokh Mahdavi employs characteristically thick layers of paint and fleshy pink hues to create portraits that render more generalised depictions of human beings – free from stereotypes such as gender and race. A self-taught painter, Mahdavi lives and works in Tehran. His work has been exhibited in major exhibitions including Palais De Tokyo, Paris’s City Prince/sses in Dhaka, Lagos, Manila, Mexico City and Tehran, 2017; and the Iranian Pavilion of the Venice Biennale in 2015.
Courtesy of the artist and Dastan Gallery, Tehran
The acquisition of two paintings from this body of work is supported by Sarah Morgan and Andrew Cook