Lot 92: Afshin Pirhashemi (Iranian, b. 1974)

Afshin Pirhashemi (Iranian, b. 1974)
Worship
signed and dated 'Pirhashemi 2006' (upper left panel); signed 'pirhashemi' and signed in Farsi (on reverse of lower centre panel)
oil on canvas, polyptych of six panels
each 39¼ x 39¼in. (100 x 100cm.); overall 78½ x 117¾in. (200 x 300cm.)
Painted in 2006

Afshin Pirhashemi's paintings explore the complexities of life in today's Iran through his unique combination of carefully controlled photo-realistic depictions of Iranian figures and gothic fantasy. He uses black and white almost exclusively black and white in his paintings, with empty space surrounding the figures to produce images which are powerful comments on contemporary identity.

Afshin Pirhashemi was the award winner at the 2nd International Beijing Biennial in 2005 and also the 6th Tehran Painting Biennial in 2004.