Friends and partners Samira Eskandarfar and Hamed Sahihi held their first duo show at Laleh Gallery twenty years ago. This exhibition is a celebration of twenty years of their collaboration, showcasing the exhibitions they held together and a selection of works that connect the timeline of those exhibitions.
Samira Eskandarfar is always capable of shocking our senses. Her bold lines and fantastical approach to portrait painting, in particular, are engaging; long after the exhibition is ended, these portraits are remembered. The theatrical aspect of her work and her courage in showing the ugly side of stories next to the endearing aspects of the same stories- two sides of the same coin- makes her the extraordinary image maker she is.
Silent spaces are the setting of the dramas of Hamed Sahihi. Irrational perspective is another element of his works. In his latest series of paintings, human presence is concealed, and the center stage is given to vigorous energy that fills the pictorial space. His large-scale paintings express the sensation of vastness and solitude like the Dervishes chant their prayers. With open eyes, he remains a dreamer.