The Xippas Gallery is pleased to present Farah Atassi’s third solo exhibition. The exhibition is made up of two new families of artworks that simultaneously continue her previous work and foretell new artistic endeavors.
Each composition is rooted in the binary of background and figure or background and object. This universal theme is explored in vernacular forms and in the all-over paintings. A grid made of adhesive tape orients the spectator’s perspective of the painting and its lines break and unwind into a geometric labyrinth. The background is populated with objects and shapes made of synthetic forms and virtual symbols. These gaps are full of tension and lend energy to the composition while her use of a refined color palette provides the rhythm.
In the first part of the exhibition, Atassi delves into the graphic aspect of cubism to unearth forms, rework them, and integrate them into her pictorial universe. Drawing on a rich history from great artists, she appropriates some of the classic themes of painting such as still life, nude, and atelier. She then applies her own protocol to them in these displays. In the canvases, Painter and Carnival, elements borrowed from painting masterpieces are liberally reinterpreted and translated into a graphic language.
In the second family of artworks, Atassi was inspired by the psychedelic aesthetic of the 1970s and the theories behind the musicalist movement as developed by Henry Valensi. In the manner of op art, these full and complex compositions generate the effects of optical illusions enabling space and objects to blur together. Therefore the paintings transform into vibrant surfaces that create an immersive experience.
Farah Atassi develops a figurative painting using the vocabulary of abstract painting. Her paintings deal with thick layers and repentance that contrast with the rigidity of straight lines. Similar to a collage, they meticulously combine anachronistic forms with contradictory appearances, borrowed from sculpture, painting, and design. Through her complete dedication to this media, Farah Atassi develops a painting style that is simultaneously conceptual and joyful.
