Solo exhibition of Morteza Pourhosseini
A project in collaboration with Nader & Nader LLC. New York
Opening at Aaran Gallery on 8th January 2016

By applying his significant technical skills, Morteza Pourhosseini, builds a bridge between artistic practices of the present to those of the past. His paintings are realistically detailed and signal his precision and focus. He captures details to hint at the mysteries behind the image. While he is inclined to stay away from registering emotions, the underlying strain and volatility are evident in each of these timeless portraits; particularly the hands that in proximity of various objects betray the tensions that are part of the rigidity of the poses. Elements of history of art are boldly incorporated in the paintings to emphasize the content and advocate skepticism and critical thinking. The narrative concept points to humanism and agency of human beings. The existential angst is evident in these portraits and while artist unfolds age old questions, he refrains from answering them.
Confronted with the realities of the world, such as violence, the dilemma of Either/Or is as complex as it was when Kane and Abel walked the earth. To prove that a suggestion or an idea is true or false is very often not attainable. The answer to the perpetual question of how we should live is a unfathomable as it was centuries ago. Logic indicates that nothing can be known for certain but senses are easily fooled and reason is outwitted by human desires. What is known for sure is that human beings are condemned to be free, to carry the dilemma of uncertainty or in other words the burden of choice, and are ultimately responsible for everything they do.
Born in 1985 in city of Ahwaz, Morteza Pourhosseini studied painting at Shahed Art university in Tehran. His work has been acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of art for their permanent collection in 2014. His third solo show titled “The Circus” was held at Bohemian National Hall in New York in the same year and he has participated in various group exhibitions in Iran and abroad.