MOHAMMAD HOSSEIN EMAD

Acceptance
13 May -21 June, 2016

Assar Art Gallery proudly presents Acceptance, the latest sculptures by Mohammad-Hossein Emad.

In his fourth solo show with the gallery, Mohammad-Hossein Emad exhibits his latest body of work comprising four sculptures, all empty volumes that invite viewers to be dragged into a void, either physically or imaginatively.

As in all of his other creations, Emad once again lays emphasis on void and the complementary connection between contrary forces. Taking void as a representation of ‘acceptance’- be it acceptance of another object or material in a sculpture, or metaphorically, acceptance of ‘others’- Emad aesthetically portrays the opposite ends of a cycle: lightness and solidity, fullness and emptiness, darkness and light…

Unlike his previous exhibitions, Emad concurrently uses natural and synthetic material this time to emphasize the perception of acceptance through his forms. In both wooden pieces of solid-looking hollow wooden cubes that appear in various arrangements and a large cartonplast volume that is inserted into the physical structure of the gallery, the audience is invited to see and feel the void.

The artist’s signature approach towards synthesis of volume and void is clearly seen in all his four pieces regardless of their size and material. In the huge Iron wall that takes in 825 empty wooden cubes for instance, or in the pair of half a human size wooden cubes, or even in the small limited edition wooden cubes, and of course in the grand bowl-like sculpture that bulges out of the window opening; Emad purely portrays his sophisticated philosophical and aesthetic attitude towards existence in his minimal yet visually stunning tone.

One of the dominant figures among Iranian sculptors, Mohammad-Hossein Emad lives and works in Tehran. Born in 1957 in Arak, Emad has exhibited worldwide in the past twenty years and won many awards. Several of his works are installed in public spaces in Tehran and other cities of Iran. His work has been exposed in several art fairs and national and international biennales and included in prominent collections.