This is the most unusual exhibition of the month. A series of drawings born from a photograph. An exhibition by Farhad Ostovani that Annie Boulat particularly wanted to present in her gallery DUREV Events and that she describes as follows:
At first glance, it is just a banal black and white photo of two women in a room, who seem strangers to each other. One is standing at the back of the room, arranging her hair, the other, sitting on an armchair, is in the foreground, in profile, looking straight ahead. They are separated by a large empty space, highlighted by a vertical line that divides the back wall into a light part and a dark part. However, when he discovered this photo in 2005, Farhad Ostovani was fascinated. He could not take his eyes off the image showing his mother and grandmother. “From that first glance, after years, I was already looking for something in this image and I couldn’t understand what!” From then on, he would draw inspiration from it, as if he wanted to revive a moment from the past. For 18 years, Farhad Ostovani engaged in creative work. He drew from the photo, trying to understand what he was looking for. From the original he made copies, which he enlarged, cut, recomposed, rearranged, like musical variations, trying not to let himself be overwhelmed by emotion.
Today there are forty sketches, many studies, drawings and nine large unfinished works as well as a book and a video of the sketchbook. These works are imbued with nostalgia, but by subjecting the image to all these treatments, he brings it back to life and deepens the mystery of this suspended moment. Looking at his work Farhad Ostovani asks himself: “But what was I looking for? To determine the meaning of this moment so ancient? Or was the important thing, throughout this work, the journey itself and the long, faithful, and enriching meditation.”
Annie Boulat
Farhad Ostovani : Deux Femmes
Until February 15, 2025
DUREV Events
56, Bld de La Tour-Maubourg
75007 Paris
www.durev.com
