Pocket Utopia proudly announces "Undead" a solo show by Shayan Nazarian.
In his series 'Undead,' Shayan Nazarian masterfully employs Faulkner's concept of 'arresting motion' to explore the interplay of form and narrative. His use of vibrant colors and dynamic compositions creates a visual feast on each canvas, where personal and collective histories intersect in the face of social violence.
Nazarian's work in 'Undead' is a philosophical exploration of life's paradoxes. Through his abstract landscapes and metaphorical elements, he presents a harmonious and discordant world, benevolent and cruel. His art is not an attempt to make sense of the artist's role, but a profound reflection on the complexities of existence.
The use of moon-like symbols—rendered with an almost whimsical, googly-eyed appearance—and rhythmic dots, along with shades of cerulean punctuated by dashes of red, intensifies the thematic depth, suggesting an underlying order amidst chaos. Nazarian uses his art to confront a world where things are pooled and fall into one another and where nihilistic contemplation is essential and worthwhile.
Nazarian's figures, captured in various states of displacement, more paranoid than disinterested, emphasize a sense of isolation and the need for philosophical reflection. This series serves as a dissenting voice amidst prevailing narratives, challenging viewers to confront and reconcile the inherent contradictions of the human condition through the lens of the natural world and human emotion.
'Undead' reflects the state of being that eludes simple binaries: not wholly good or bad, light or dark, happy or sad, zero or one. It embodies the paradoxical nature of the 21st-century human experience—a position that finds strength in lack and sees futility at the culmination of goals. The figures portrayed are not distinctly men or women nor clearly happy or sad; their expressions could equally denote pain or joy. They represent a universal mental state shaped by our contemporary era, transcending cultural differences— as likely to be found in a commuter on a New York City train as in a farmer in a small Chinese village. This exhibition invites viewers to find inspiration and power in the complexities and ambiguities of modern life.
Shayan Nazarian is a Brooklyn-based Iranian painter. He earned his BA in architecture at Azad University in Iran and his MFA in painting at Boston University. He has been influenced by psychoanalysis, German philosophy, and several art movements such as Dadaism and French New Wave. More recently, his expansive interest in the turmoil of social conditions and political landscapes has continued to expand his interdisciplinary research and human-centric practice through painting, video, photography, and collage. Nazarian has exhibited in New York at the Morgan Lehman Gallery, in Boston, MA, at the Stone Gallery and Piano Craft Gallery, and in his home country, Iran.
