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September 24 - October 24, 2019

MAHMOUD ASHKANANI

Conversations in Color

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Modern societies are measured through cultural achievements such as literature, art, theatre and architecture; the Fine Arts are one of such pillars that are highly valued and respected. Throughout the course of my career, by way of local and international ventures, I have sought to evolve my work. Whilst the development of my practice is on going, the focus of my current artistic process is the result of continuous experimentation in techniques that have led me today to total abstraction.



The colours in my work are used as a form of language, each with its own history and insight, shaped through fifty years of experience and understanding.

Interpreting my work is not as vague as it may seem at first. As the viewer stands before my paintings they can move into their depth, with open contemplation and a willingness to understand. They can be read as a whole and as a collection of reductive worlds through which revelations of colour are formed.

The observer can find themselves in the position of deciphering and reconstructing the colours on the canvas, drawing connotations inherent in the depths of the work and interpreting it through their own sensibility.

The distinction of colour at times helps increase the tension and contrasts within the piece, applied by way of smaller fragments and in their interaction throughout the composition as a whole. This allows for different visualizations within the same painting, a perpetual shift in perspective harmonised by the eye and mind. Constantly interacting with all these elements, individually and as a whole, inherently generates an aesthetic formula. Through this process, the painting reveals its artistic truth.

The works of Kuwaiti artist Mahmoud Ashkanani vary in form and colour. Using an abstract style he attempts to create a world of unique colours. Expressed through warm and cool hues, Ashkanani's themes range from the dramatic to the individualistic, and even to world issues - all without compromising the principles of the abstract. His works are never entirely ambiguous, as the shadows of buildings and individuals are always present to direct the viewer's thoughts towards the work's subject matter. Ashkanani continues to develop his work looking for new expressions of colour and form.

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