From an attic studio in the heart of the city, Abiha Naderi (Esfahan, Iran, 1989) works at a rapid pace on his enormous paintings. With his works – on display until April 13th at the Art Rental of Kunstpunt – he challenges the viewer: "I try to show people that they should not rely on their eyes." We visited Abiha in his studio, where he always works on multiple artworks at once and there is one thing he cannot do without: a protective mask.
"I chose Minerva Academy in Groningen because I was attracted to the workshops and facilities. What I didn't expect when I started studying there was that they would fundamentally change my way of looking at painting. I was used to painting figurative representations and using the texture of paint to emphasize the composition. In previous studies, the focus was on producing a product. What I learned here was that textures could be the main story and that I had to learn to embrace the process of making. Anything can be the canvas and anything can be used as paint. Embracing this attitude towards painting gives me the freedom to explore whatever I want. When I was making figurative paintings, I felt that the artist often becomes an authoritative figure telling the viewer what they should see, whereas when I began to embrace the process and move towards abstraction, I was placed in a position where I am just as much a viewer and observer as anyone else. Instead of just telling a story, I am sharing an experience with the viewer."
"EVERYTHING CAN BE THE CANVAS AND EVERYTHING CAN BE USED AS PAINT."
"There are many different ways in which I get inspired. I am inspired by photos I take, objects I find, documentaries about space, or macro photography. I also use older works that I integrate into my new works. I create images of objects and the world around to understand and capture the essence of different materials. Then I use these insights to challenge visual perception. I now work in a studio in the center of Groningen which I share with three other artists. I work in the attic, far away from my studio mates because I use spray paint and other chemicals. The working conditions are harsh because there is no heating. Still, I spend most of the week there wearing my protective mask to create paintings and develop new techniques. I usually use spray paint because it dries quickly and it's a good and fast way to suggest light in a painting. Because it dries so quickly, I can work on multiple paintings at the same time. This allows me to quickly explore all the different possibilities of making a work. For me, every painting I make is a word, and many works together must form a sentence. Along the way, I try to combine them into a paragraph, thus building a story with my work. That's what I try to do with my solo exhibition at the Art Rental of Kunstpunt. There you will see a story spanning several years of work in which all the different techniques and materials in painting are introduced."
"When I moved to the Netherlands, a country globally known for its paintings, I was quite disillusioned. It wasn't easy to make a career in painting, I had to work very hard and was always very uncertain about my work. This experience was very similar to what people experience with mirages; when you finally reach the mirage, you realize there is nothing there. Abstract painting works in a similar way in that it's people's imagination that communicates with abstract things. Illusions are about suggestion; if you paint a line that makes up three-quarters of a circle, people will still see a circle, even though it's just a curved line in reality. Similarly, when NASA gets an image from space, it's often very fragmented information and they have to fill in the gaps. Yet we all accept these works as images of reality. In my work, I try to address this issue and try to show people that they should not rely on their eyes. People have always been very sure that we were doing the right things, while we were all doing bad things. So we always have to distrust and question what we see and what we do."
The solo exhibition The uncertain observer by Abiha Naderi can be visited at the Art Rental of Kunstpunt until April 13, 2024. All works are available for loan and/or purchase. Find more information on this page.