Eye Agate - In Praise of Frenzy

Sahar Azadmehr

February 7 - 18 2025

Press Release

“She was called Eye Agate, after the Persian term for onyx stone, which was believed to protect against the evil eye—yet she was the one who had been rejected.”
- Sahar Azadmehr

O Gallery presents Sahar Azadmehr's (b. 1991 Isfahan) second solo exhibition after six years, showcasing a new approach to her artistic journey.

The exhibition features works on canvas, drawings and sculptures. Despite the structured framework of her earlier works, the shift toward subjective abstraction was a bold and challenging choice for the artist. It transformed her creative process, pushing her to embrace the journey with oil—not just as a tool, but as a medium of discovery—one that evolved into a vibrant, immersive experience, opening new pathways for artistic exploration. 
In this collection, all traces of her previous portraits and the realism once rooted in photographic references have vanished. Instead, her work now carries a melancholic yet deeply personal sense of defamiliarization, prompting viewers to question what they see and what it signifies. 
The exaggerated abstract forms—now a characteristic of her recent works—subtly morph into ambiguous shapes that might resemble an ear, a finger or a claw, yet always leave the viewer in a state of hesitation. This deliberate ambiguity mirrors the relationship between her art and its audience: there is no definitive interpretation, only an invitation to contemplate and engage, just as we, too, are continuously shaped by our surroundings.
The artist continues to explain the driving force behind her work: 
"Eye Agate is my new inspiration—a simulation of the incompatible coexistence of the mad and the sane, both in survival mode, each disturbingly aware of the other's existence. It allows me to experience life beyond conventional boundaries and to see beyond the ordinary.”