Hurdle
Artist
Shiva Ahmadi
(Iranian, born 1975)
Date2019
MediumMixed media on aquaboard
Dimensions30 × 22 in. (76.2 × 55.9 cm)
Frame Size: 31 × 23 in. (78.7 × 58.4 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Object numberUAC6723
DescriptionA shackled angel carries a vessel filled with thick, bloody fluid. It spills over the edges of the golden basin with arms and appendages intermingled; a human come undone. Beneath, pools of crimson flood from horses with feet bound and splayed akimbo. They lay next to what one could only guess to be wheels, and their mangled legs allude that they may have gotten caught up in their spokes. A roofless brick building sits to the right of the painting, with one door propped open for the mutilated bodies to enter. At its edge, a simian figure with hands tied holds flailing ribbons. To the right of the painting stand two other figures, their feet shackled together, with one holding a spear overheard, and the other an oblong object. The man with his spear grasps a thin, white thread which slithers amongst the carnage, a ghost binding the creatures in death. Within this painting is great sorrow, as even the angels are helpless against the barbaric acts of humans as they attempt to escape themselves; both savior and villain shackled in their own way.Hurdle is hauntingly beautiful. Ahmadi’s watercolor technique creates a world filled with elegantly curled lines and rich color. Her work has a theatricality to it that might cause one to take pause and believe themselves to be witnessing brilliant festivities, opposed to acts of war and false prophets. Having come of age in Iran during a turbulent portion of the 1980s before moving to the United States, Ahmadi is no stranger to conflict and political strife. For Ahmadi, these political dialogues are intrinsic to her work. She draws heavily from the tradition of Persian miniature paintings. These often-illustrated lyrical prose or poetry through elaborate design. Their rhythm is not lost in Ahmadi’s variety of artistic media, although she often brings to the fore questions of the role of religion and politics in daily life through her creation, and borrowing, of mythology and iconography.
Ahmadi received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from Azad University in Tehran, Iran, in 1998. Shortly thereafter, she moved to the United States where she earned Master of Fine Arts degrees from Wayne State University in 2003 and from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2005. Ahmadi’s artwork continues to be influential and receive critical acclaim, and has been exhibited throughout within both American galleries as well as abroad.
Written by Samantha Hohmann
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