O Gallery is pleased to present “Fear and Desire,” Ghasem Hajizadeh’s (b. 1947 Lahijan) first solo show with the gallery. 
Drawing inspiration from the Qajar period, Ghasem Hajizadeh adds expressionism where it didn’t exist before, plays the naïve artist at times while he is very well capable and aware of “conventions” such as perspective and composition. Hinting at pop art, while touching the surface of neo realism, Hajizadeh doesn’t fit into any one category, while he is a little bit of everything. His canvases are striking combinations of drawing and painting, paper and canvas, resulting in multi-layered canvases that weave together references to personal events in the past. 
Painting from old photographs, the scenes that he portrays seem to tell a story but the narrative is not always straightforward. He reframes the visual narratives of his subjects by exaggerating the “reality” of the photos he uses. Interested in historical, social contexts of the photographs, he stands as an independent witness, documenting what he wants, juxtaposing what he pleases and eliminating what doesn’t serve his image. Through his paintings, the second-hand circulation of old photographs creates the past but in the now. 
The figures in his paintings tell us something simple yet profound about lust and fear. Contrary to what a photograph does, to capture and save a moment, it is the desire for the ephemeral that gives depth to Hajizadeh’s work. What is short lived, the lust so apparent in many of his works and the anxiety present in the way he portrays them.  The posture of the figures, their gaze and their arrangement in space and relationship to one another is of great importance. 
In one of his works where a couple are portrayed on their wedding day, there is another man in the frame. The bride is looking down coyly; the groom is holding unto the bride’s arm with a very tight grip whilst leaning towards the other man, kissing him with what seems like blushed cheeks. What are we looking at here? Perhaps the desire to move forward with something or the fear of losing what’s at hand? While the three figures are united in their celebration, they are somehow disconnected as well. 
In another work, the details of the dresses of the three men dressed as women, their jewelry and the adornments on their hair are so exquisite that you can feel the couture between your fingers and the lace slipping through. They have dressed up for just for this occasion, to have their photos taken at a photography studio, and Hajizadeh plays with such incidents very lightheartedly. The subjects’ eyes distinguish the facts, the one in the center is looking straight, while the other two are looking to the left, with their cigarettes pointing to the same direction, again another prop to complete their “pose”, hinting at the different possibilities in front of them. 
Hajizadeh clearly takes pleasure in painting and want his viewers to as well. That is not to say he makes things easy. He employs an offbeat color palette that separates his work from anyone else. He might use a sharp orange for the flat background of one painting, making it more pop and of today, or use a detailed background with a hint of brown glaze to make it more nostalgic and of the past.  But more than being nostalgic images, the “every day” in Hajizadeh’s paintings is seasoned with something more grievous.  

- Orkideh Daroodi
April 2024

O Gallery presents “Hidden Curtains, Apparent Curtains”, a group exhibition curated by Boyeh Sadadtnia.
The pursuit of truth has always been our concern; moving beyond the surface of things and reaching what lies beneath, discovering the connections between matters and delving into their hidden depths; even though we are simultaneously mask-makers and veil-wearers as well. To be is a side of being and just as our world shapes us, we also shape ourselves. We classify, categorize and as we organize our world, we formulize it. We are the moderators of our own order. Every time we discover the world, we add a layer to what existed before; as if a new curtain of a new show is dropped.
The playful artist, like a child, sets aside the stage curtain and cunningly peers behind the scenes. As if they know that this curtain is the same as their canvas. They know that this curtain has manipulators and that some have raised curtains for us.
As a child plays with the stage curtain, the world behind the curtain unfolds for the audience, and we once again find ourselves allowed a momentary glimpse behind the curtain of the world.

- Boyeh Sadatnia

We celebrate our ninth years in business at O Gallery! Take a look at our year in review.

The book explores the epistemological, experiential and political implications of words when lifted out of language and discursive meaning. Referring to reliable sources and research, Motamedi studies the function of word with different approaches and in different contexts. Centering this subject, she explores the language’s conceptual limitations, contradictions and its extensions with image.

Studying different linguistic approaches, Motamedi reviews works of art concerning this concept from various artists and she explores works by Farniyaz Zaker and a scene from "The Story of My Life" by Helen Adams Keller for demonstrating words textural.

A published collection of drawings and paintings (1985-2022)/ Ali Nassir, available at the gallery.

Texts on Pooyan Hashemi Tari’s exhibition “Sqaure” by the artist, Mona Al-e Seyyed, and Aydin Keykhaei

We celebrate our eight years in business at O Gallery! Take a look at our year in review.

We celebrate our seventh year in business at O Gallery! Take a look at our exhibitions with the installation views.

A collection of Shideh Tami's works published by O Gallery on the occasion of her exhibition at the gallery in October 2016.

We celebrate our sixth year in business at O Gallery! Take a look at our exhibitions with the installation views.