Untitled 2008

Mostafa Dashti created this evocative painting using pigments and binder on canvas. The composition divides the surface into two unequal zones, one a field of deep black, the other a softly brushed expanse of light blue. Dashti has coaxed these materials to their most potent expression. The blacks aren't flat or dead, but possess depth and texture, as if the darkness is a tangible, voluminous presence. This may reflect the artist's roots in Iran, a country with a rich tradition of calligraphy, which also favors stark contrasts of light and shade. The sky blue is more open and atmospheric, yet feels somehow threatened by the encroaching dark. The painting process involved is direct, raw, almost primal. The artist seems less concerned with illusionism and more focused on the sheer physicality of the materials, and the emotional impact they can convey. In the end, Dashti reminds us that art is not just about what is depicted, but about the labor and intention embedded in its making.