This solo exhibition by Mehrdad Khataei presents a wonderful collection of works that focuses on the figure. As a printmaker attuned to the sensibilities of Iranian culture, this body of work not only demonstrates his flair for the figurative but also reflects the complexity of contemporary Iranian society. These full figure portraits of every day people are captured with sensitivity and confidence. They are caught unaware, sitting casually, pensively and seem detached from the viewer. With their stance, they seem to claim their own private spaces—hands crossed over their bodies, faces half covered in the shadows. We find ourselves not wanting to intrude. Yet they pulsate with energy. Khataei’s sublime use of colour and line seem to reflect the intricacies of the inner psyche. He is adept at conveying a depth of emotion with brevity of strokes and hue. There is confident linearity in his work. His lines flow effortlessly. The weight and strength of his lines express a certain robustness of the sitter and yet his use of colour emphasizes the hidden or the unspoken. The body here is presented as ephemeral host to abstract emotion and thought. Khataei reveals an empathy for the inherent tension between what we see in the flesh in contrast to the silent yearnings of the soul. His figures, thus, carry a certain discomfort that typifies much of contemporary society—a sense of displacement in a world we seek to own.
Emelia Ong
PhD (Art History) from University Sains Malaysia
Mehrdad Khataei I Online Exhibition
MEKH-OE001
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE002
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE003
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE004
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE005
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE006
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE007
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE008
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE009
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE010
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE011
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE012
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE013
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE014
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE015
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE016
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE017
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE018
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE019
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE020
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE021
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE022
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE023
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE024
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE025
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE026
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE027
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE028
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE029
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE030
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE031
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE032
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE033
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE034
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
MEKH-OE035
Sold
Size: 350 x 500 mm ( 13,7 x 19,6 inch.)
