PRESS RELEASE

Hamzianpour & Kia in collaboration with Alangoo Fine Art ‘Pahlavan’ Featured Artists: Najva Erfani, Sara Keshmiri, Roxana Manouchehri, Reza Razm 27 August – 17 September 2022 Preview: Friday, 26 August, 11am - 6pm 5225 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 212, LA Hamzianour & Kia is pleased to present “Pahlavan”, an exquisite selection of four Iranian artists, in collaboration with ALANGOO Fine Art marketplace. The group exhibition includes Najva Erfani, Roxana Manouchehri, Sara Keshmiri and Reza Razm. All four artists explore contortion and evolvement of the body as frames to the hero, the “Pahlavan”, within. They borrow from written and oral epic traditions that are prevalent in the fabric of day to day Iranian life, from the epic of Shahnameh, to mythical and mystical Conference of the Birds. Across these epics and myths, enduring pain and struggling along simultaneously growing and birthing a hero go hand in hand. The artists also visit and revisit gender and identity in a culture that at once rejects the significance of gender by having a genderless language with neuter genders represented in the pronouns, yet magnifies a distinct and deep attitude towards traditional and stereotypical gender rules in the day to day fabric of society. Najva Erfani extends the sense of self to the world around her. She sees the world as a game and the players as the heroes that dynamically and swiftly take on new roles. These heroes make hard decisions, struggle with their doubts and desires, and swing away again and again with their failures and wins alike. Najva seeks to depict the struggle and the regular rebirth and mutation that these everyday heroes go through, to swirl in the game of life. Sara Keshmiri builds upon her experience as a mother - the ultimate hero - in the Iranian society, in which women are to have an extraordinary presence, both warm and caring but also attractive and sensual, naturally with a distinguished vocation. Through her painting, she illustrates the nebulous shift between victim vs. hero, feminine vs. masculine, and self vs. self-reflection. She draws inspiration from the metamorphosis she went through when becoming a mother, and later by rediscovering herself again as the children became young adults. Roxana Manouchehri’s work can best be thought of as a mind collage, created by assembling sometime irrelevant images of her dreams, fears, curiosities, love and dreads together, trying to patch and repair the wounds and the chaos in her head and in her real life. Manouchehri relies on collecting memories and patching the fragmented symbolic cultural elements, mostly Persian and Arabesque patterns with one off fragments of East Asian culture, to bring to life her notion of a hero. The impact of living her childhood and adolescence in the Middle East, later on residing in the Far East and now in Europe and the resulting culture shock with each transition is evident throughout her work. Reza Razm brings to life twisted bodies and excruciated faces, figures with disproportionate ratios and at times incorrect perspectives. The figures are intermingled by fighting tools, with often somber body languages. The colors are further muddled to capture the Kafkaesque existence that modern humanity has to withstand, in a mega sphere where concepts of freedom, choice, identity, and spirituality are just words, and often stay at the very surface without space to penetrate and flourish. Najva Erfani holds an M.A in illustration from the Art University of Tehran, along with B.A in Graphic from the Art University of Tehran. Erfani has had 6 solo exhibitions in Tehran and over 20 group exhibitions in Tehran, Gothenburg, London, Dusseldorf, Paris, Ahwaz, Bratislava and Belgrade. She has completed several mural projects in Tehran & Kish Island and illustrated over 40 Books for Kids & Young Adults. Sara Keshmiri is an Iranian contemporary visual artist, graphics designer, painter, and sculptor. She has a B.A in Graphic Art from 17-shahrivar School and an M.A in Graphic Art from Karaj Art University. She has had 3 solo exhibitions in Tehran, including the latest in the prestigious Seyhoun Gallery. She has had 14 group exhibitions in Tehran. Roxana Manouchehri, is a professional visual artist based in Dublin, Ireland. She has received an MFA in fine art from the Tehran University of Art. Manouchehri has had more than 50 group exhibitions internationally and 17 solo exhibitions in Tehran, Seoul, Dubai, Madrid, Munich, London, Brussels, Rauma and Dublin, including the RHA and the Kevin Kavanagh Gallery. Etemad Gallery in Tehran, presents her works and Roya Khajavi is her agent in NYC at High Line Nine Gallery. She has participated in some international artist residencies, including Chang Dong in Seoul, Belmont Mill and RHA in Ireland, Rauma in Finland and Can Serrat in Barcelona. Reza Razm is a Multidisciplinary Artist, residing in Tehran, Iran. He has a Masters of Drama with focus on Directing and Acting from University of Tarbiat Modares, along with a Bachelors in Costume Design from University of Arts, Cinema and Theater. Razm has had 4 group exhibitions in Athens, Genoa, Istanbul and Tehran, along with 3 solo exhibitions in Tehran. He has designed costumes, lighting and film sets for over 50 short films, feature films, TV series and plays. He also has written screenplays and directed 11 feature films, short films, documentaries and plays. For more information, please contact info@hamzianpourandkia.com or call +1 (917) 751 8893. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11am to 6pm. ALANGOO Fine Art (AFA) is a curated Fine Art online marketplace that brings art lovers and collectors the constant discovery of exquisite art by emerging Iranian artists from around the globe. Alangoo.com/alangoo-fine-art Hamzianpour & Kia is a contemporary Los Angeles based gallery located in the Wilshire Miracle Mile area at 5225 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 212, Los Angeles. Hamzianpour & Kia is a pioneering platform for established and emerging local and international artists. Our goal is to introduce groundbreaking works to new audiences.