Pouran Jinchi
The Blind Owl
September 18–October 24, 2013
The Third Line
Al Quoz 3, Dubai, UAE
T +9714 3411 367
www.thethirdline.com
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Pouran Jinchi returns to The Third Line with her third solo show, The Blind Owl, continuing her investigation into deconstructing calligraphy and looking into the deeper complexities of the written word. The artist explores the physical form and its signified insinuations through the lens of the dark narratives of The Blind Owl, a major literary work by Iranian author Sadegh Hedayat.
This publication, penned in the late 1930s, explores a grim fascination with death and for the most part was banned in Iran. It was this polemic around the book that aroused curiosity in Pouran’s youth, and has been a source of inspiration for her work. “I write only for my shadow which is cast on the wall in front of the light. I must introduce myself to it”—Pouran uses Hedayat’s quote as a point of departure for exploring various media such as intricate drawings on paper and paintings, as well as sculptures in copper and plexiglass, to deliver her experience of the confessional narrative.
Pouran interprets the Iranian tradition of calligraphy and Islamic geometry through the lens of contemporary aesthetics and focuses on the weight of letters, phrases and quotes to convey her own narrative. As with previous works where she drew inspiration from seminal text works like the Quran and the Cyrus Cylinder (ancient Persian text based artifact), The Blind Owl is an example of how Pouran uses literature to inform her practice.
About Pouran Jinchi
Pouran Jinchi is an Iranian-born, New York-based artist whose works are represented in prominent institutional collections such as The Metropolitan Museum, New York; The Museum of Fine Arts Houston; Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, NY; Brooklyn Museum; Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; and Federal Reserve Bank, NY; and most recently the Pratt Institute in New York. She’s held several solo exhibitions in New York, Dubai, Japan and others. Her work has also been included in group exhibitions in prominent venues such as Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2013); Asian Art Museum, San Francisco (2012); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (2010); and the Brooklyn Museum (2009).
Project Space – Nadia Ayari, The Fountain and The Fig
The Third Line is pleased to introduce New York-based artist Nadia Ayari, with her exhibition The Fountain and The Fig. Nadia works with densely painted surfaces, where stark contrasting colours form hyper-natural imagery and provide strong allegories of the sensual and the violent. By using heavily conventionalized symbols such as the fig and the tree, she influences the imagery to acquire an element of myth-like storytelling. The densely painted surfaces take on a sculptural quality as Nadia works layer upon layer to construct the visual, subtly manipulating the thick paint to set along the grain of the folded leaf and the curve of the over-ripened fruit.
About Nadia Ayari
Nadia Ayari moved from Tunisia to the United States in 2000 completing her MFA in Painting at the Rhode Island School of Design. She co-represented the US at the 12th International Cairo Biennale (2010) and participated in the 3rd and 4th Thessaloniki Biennale in Greece (2011), has held solo shows in Italy and New York and been included in group exhibitions in venues including the Saatchi Gallery, London; Monica De Cardenas Gallery, Switzerland and Gallery Diet, FL. Her works are part of the collections of the State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, Greece; and the Saatchi Collection, London.
About The Third Line
The Third Line is a Dubai-based art gallery that represents contemporary Middle Eastern artists locally, regionally and internationally. It also hosts non-profit, alternative programs to increase interest and dialogue in the region. The Third Line also publishes books by associated artists.
Represented artists include Abbas Akhavan, Ala Ebtekar, Amir H. Fallah, Arwa Abouon, Babak Golkar, Ebtisam Abdulaziz, Farhad Moshiri, Fouad Elkoury, Golnaz Fathi, Hassan Hajjaj, Hayv Kahraman, Huda Lutfi, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Laleh Khorramian, Lamya Gargash, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Pouran Jinchi, Rana Begum, Sahand Hesamiyan, Sherin Guirguis, Shirin Aliabadi, Slavs and Tatars, Sophia Al-Maria, Tarek Al-Ghoussein and Youssef Nabil.
Media contact
Saira Ansari, PR & Media Coordinator: saira [at] thethirdline.com
