‘Polychromatic’ @ Daniel Raphael Gallery
Mustafa Horasan, Salman Khoshroo, Milad Mousavi, Olamide Ogunade Olisco and Horacio Quiroz. Curated by Tima Jam.
Polychromatic presents five artists’ reflections on identity and the self. Despite being seemingly disparate artists from across the world, the artists are united by their unique methods of exploring identity through mediations on colour and form, simultaneously urging the viewer to question their own predetermined perception of identity and self. Since opening in 2016 Daniel Raphael is committed to showcasing emerging artists in interactive and thought provoking ways - Polychromatic being a testament to this.
Born in the southern Iranian town of Bushehr, Tima Jam, the curator of Polychromatic, is fully aware of the lack of ethnic minority representation within the arts. Having founded Blue Rhino Consultancy in 2016, with branches in Turkey, Iran and the UK, Tima strives to continuously champion homegrown artistic talent with a sense of belonging and inclusion.
The work of Horatio Quiroz (b. Mexico) embodies the themes central to Jam’s curatorial vision. A self-taught artist, Quiroz has been practicing full-time in 2013 upon leaving his career in advertising in pursuit of spontaneous, fulfilling path. Quiroz regards the human body as a vessel, containing our entire temporal and spiritual histories. Surrounding this vessel are prevalent dichotomies that underpin life: night and day, good and evil, masculine and feminine, and, the soul and flesh. Such discordant forces take form in Quiroz’s work as he reflects on the human condition: a unifying experience for all. Flesh and features morph and transmute across Quiroz’s canvases, mutant emotions expressed through the creation of impossible anatomical forms. In Before Drowning a distorted figure wraps in on itself, half a face visible amidst a twisted leg and swollen phallic form. The hyper-realistic quality of Quiroz’s paintings adds impetus to their palpable discomforting edge.
Horatio Quiroz, Before Drowning (2014). Source: Daniel Raphael Gallery.
This painting embodies “Quiroz’s ideas of interchanging between reality and the fantastical; offering moments of known anatomy merged with surrealist interpretations of drowning and tantrums.” - Tima Jam.
Much like Quiroz, Mustafa Horasan (b. 1965, Turkey) similarly regards the human body as a container of great emotions, with an innate ability to withstand and withhold pain. Abstracted human-like forms populate his canvases amidst deep red and fleshy pink backgrounds of colour. Horasan’s paintings are sinister, a Bacon-esque, animalistic feel to his figures.
Mustafa Horasan, Untitled (2019). Source: Daniel Raphael Gallery.
Salman Khoshroo (b. 1983, Iran), like Quiroz and Horasan, depicts distorted figures in highly emotional states, dismantling preconceived notions of gender and beauty. Despite these comparable concepts, the end result is far from analogous. In his Wool Portrait Series, Khoshroo questions and re-interprets notions of masculinity through the delicate medium of wool, associated with textiles and ‘lower’ forms of crafts, traditionally practiced by women. It is clear that the artists presented in Polychromatic focus on what it means to be human, to occupy a body and be consumed with emotion.
Salman Khoshroo, Green Blue on Velvet (2021). Source: Daniel Raphael Gallery.
“The delicacy and warmth of the wool encapsulates Koshroo’s experience of quarantine and recent trauma. Through variances in the rigidity of the wool, Khoshroo reveals the tensions and elasticity within the human form.” - Tima Jam.
Olamide Ogunade Olisco, Ferocity (2020). Source: Daniel Raphael Gallery.
Utilising bold colours to reveal emotion and expressivity Olamide Ogunade Olisco’s (b. 1996, Nigeria) canvases are full of rhythm and colour. Olisco’s use of charcoal for his delicately realistic figures contrasts brilliantly against his vibrant surrounding colour palettes. In Woman With Pride, a woman confidently acknowledges the viewer’s presence, the bright red background speaking to Olisco’s willingness to experiment with colour and patterns.
Olamide Ogunade Olisco, Woman With Pride (2021). Source: Daniel Raphael Gallery.
Lastly, Malid Mousavi’s (b. 1987, Iran) paintings are diverse in both their content and creation: Mousavi utilises pencil, acrylic, oil paint and pen to construct expressive canvases that contemplate the effect of one’s surrounding and society on the self. Mousavi cites cinema and animation as his great inspirations, made clear in the cartoon-ish, naive feel of his paintings, particularly true of Self Portrait 2 (2021).
Malid Mousavi, Self Portrait 2 (2021). Source: Daniel Raphael Gallery.
Whilst some may be tired of the online exhibition format by now, it certainly helps when an exhibition’s content is as varied and laden with personal histories and contexts like the artists’ works here. Polychromatic presents five exquisite artists, whose practices are so varied yet equally fascinating. From the unapologetic, powerful females in Olisco’s paintings, to the more introspective, soft, almost sculptural works of Khoshroo, Polychromatic is an incredibly timely and necessary exhibition, being held during a moment when the perception of the self is as pertinent as ever, and when calls for more diversified, inclusive exhibitions are only getting louder.
Polychromatic is available to view on Daniel Raphael’s website and Artsy until August 1st, 2021.
All images courtesy of Daniel Raphael.
Reviews Editor, MADE IN BED