Lot 539: f - Golnaz Fathi , Iranian B. 1972 Untitled oil on canvas

Each signed and dated 2005 oil on canvas

measurements note each: 150.5 by 134.7cm.; 29 1/4 by 53 in.

The calligraphic works of Golnaz Fathi are true expressions of emotion: to Golnaz each colour represents a sentiment, each stroke a shout of joy or gasp of pain. Although the artist was trained as a calligrapher her works seem to break the traditional boundaries of the discipline, her letters are vessels for sensation rather than meaning; with colour and alphabet she seeks to create a primal response in the viewer. Whilst a Farsi or Arabic speaker may strive to make sense of the letters on her canvas, Fathi has deliberately calligraphed these works so that the words are nonsense. She actively seeks an emotional rather than cerebral response from her viewer, for the viewer to absorb the energy of her canvas, the joy and liveliness of the yellow, the deep blue of calm and innocence; all the while focusing on black, the colour she views positively as the king of colours, there is no oppression or depression in her use of black. Golnaz Fathi's canvases are an artistic diary, full of mood and humour.