Grabbling

In a collaborative exhibition, SARAI Gallery and INJA Gallery are pleased to present Grabbling, a selection of paintings and drawings by Iranian artist Abbas Nasle Shamloo from his recent landscape series.

Grabbling marks the inaugural Karavan Project  hosted by Tehran-based INJA Gallery and consists of works from Abbas Nasle Shamloo's recent series, "Beyond Alienation", "The Land of No Sun" and a new series of works further exploring this alienating land; a painting-and-drawing collective which the artist began creating several years ago after moving to the lush and ancient nature of northern Iran.

Grabbling showcases the evolution of Nasle Shamloo's art in the past couple of years as human figures begin to vanish from his landscapes, their presence only echoed in dark, derelict man-made structures and certain framed views, giving a sense of viewing the scene through someone's eyes from behind a window, and vast, shadow-less vistas full of bare trees and over-grown vegetation suggest the grim absence of sunlight. More significantly, these seemingly representational landscapes are born out of the artist's imagination and built upon many layers of additions and removals. It is as though his paintbrush acts like fingertips, constantly moving around, grabbling, as if scratching the surface to rediscover and recreate that essence of encounter with nature.  The title, therefore, suggests a relentless tactile and mental aesthetic search both for form and meaning, a yearning for something that feels close yet remains elusive; that long-lost, vital link between nature and the alienated modern human.