Seeming to reference Edward Hopper’s interiors and Gerhard Richter’s “Woman Descending the Staircase” (1965, after Duchamp), with a bit of Vermeer’s Dutch Master technique and figurative expertise thrown in, the Safarani sisters’ video paintings, in their solo show “Reincarnation,” surpass and contemporize these past masterworks. Presented by Roya Khadjavi Projects, Iranian twin sisters, Bahareh and Farzaneh Safarani, master of fine arts graduates from Northeastern University with bachelor of art degrees from Tehran University in painting, literally set the stage for the slow contemplation of domestic scenes featuring themselves. The video projection of wavering sheer curtains onto the oil paintings doubles the doppelgänger effect of two sisters appearing in and simultaneously painting the canvas. From the earliest paintings shown, layers of curtain increasingly part and cover to … [Read more...] about From Two, One.
Farzaneh Safarani
Farzaneh and Bahareh Safarani: Presence at Northeastern’s Gallery 360
Living in the "Presence" By Kristin Wissler Boston, MA - When I first heard about “Presence,” the newest exhibit at Northeastern University’s Gallery 360, I had no idea what to expect. The exhibit, created by sisters Farzaneh and Bahareh Safarani, is comprised of “six video-paintings,” according to Gallery 360’s webpage. What was a video-painting? An animation? An optical illusion of some kind? The description also noted that these video-paintings toe the line between fantasy and reality, depicting a world where time is slower and almost still. If nothing else, I knew that these works would challenge me, and perhaps captivate me. It turns out that video-paintings are a sort of mixed media, one-part oil painting on wood panels, and one-part video streaming from a projector. The videos and paintings combine seamlessly to create quiet yet powerful images of the subject — a woman — … [Read more...] about Farzaneh and Bahareh Safarani: Presence at Northeastern’s Gallery 360