Alireza Asanloo
Alireza Asanloo is a contemporary artist, born 1974, practicing painting and sculpture. His interest in figurative painting led him to study with many renowned masters for more than ten years led to many solo and group exhibitions in Iran and abroad including United states and France.
he is a painter, designer, and sculptor mainly known for the bronze heads he made of Iranian celebrities such as Gholamreza Takhti, Jalil Shahnaz, and Abbas Kiarostami. After exploring the world of sculpture, he focused on painting.
In 1989, Asanloo participated in the academic Jahad painting classes at Tehran University and was trained by professors such as Morteza Katouzian, Arab Ali Sharveh, and Shahab Mousavizadeh. In 2016, he was invited by UNESCO to the first international painting symposium in Paris and held a masterclass in the presence of invited artists. As one of Iran’s visual artists, he painted live the faces of Iranian famous people in a painting workshop in July 2019. Loris Cheknavarian participated in this event as one of the live models. He is the founder and director of Khaneh Aftab Institute and Gallery and has participated in several solo and group exhibitions.
Asanloo was a student of Katouzian and had a deep understanding of realist painting. However, most of his works moved away from realism towards abstraction. He does this with blurring and ambiguity, mostly in figures and portraits. The artist applies his expressionistic style using powerful brushstrokes and sometimes through finger strokes.
That is why the border between painting and drawing is blurred in his works. The expression of paint can clearly be seen in Aosanloo’s works. the artist uses intertwined lines and brush strokes to create an integrated image. Paint is used as a means of expressing the inner emotions of the figure in the painting. Characteristic expression of line and colour is related to the content of the work. Also, the often dark backgrounds of these works are executed in a way that ultimately attracts the viewer’s attention to the figure or portrait. The type and direction of the faces also emphasize this centrality. The dark background and its contrast with the figures shaped mainly in colour white not only serves an aesthetic propose but also a add a symbolic meaning to the aim they serve.
Humans are at the centre of Asanloo’s work. This centrality can be seen both in the form and in the content. He deals with contemporary human life in his paintings which can also be seen in his sculptures.
oil on canvas | 145 × 110 cm
mixed materials on cardboard | 100×70 cm
oil on canvas | 150 × 150 cm
oil on canvas | 120 × 150 cm