Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar Presents His Latest Exhibition, The Age of Energy, at Phillips’ London Galleries
Off the back of his recent record-breaking sale at Philips auction house, Behnam-Bakhtiar unveils his solo exhibition, The Age of Energy. Abstract works by the French-Iranian painter form an evocative response to the structural violence endured by the Iranian people and a bid for transcendence through connectivity with spiritual and natural realms
A youth spent in post-Revolution Iran, coupled with experiences of the Iran-Iraq war, has contributed to the tensions that Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar seeks to resolve through his meditative approach to art. Much like the pioneers of abstract art that came before him, Behnam-Bakhtiar has embraced abstraction as a direct channel towards spirituality. His paintings take months to materialise. The artist loads hundreds of layers of paint onto his canvases before scraping them back. Colour is cut back with the flat edge of a metal scraper, a tool to powerfully unearth the past. The painter’s regular visits to the woodlands that surround him in the French commune of Saint-Jean Cap Ferrat have resulted in a compelling body of abstract and figurative work that calls for a collective reawakening.
The Age of Energy exhibition has been curated by notable patron and art fair director, Kamiar Maleki and will be on view at Phillips’ London galleries between March 16-26, 2023. The collection of 13 oil on canvas paintings express the artist’s profound belief that humanity might transform through a connection to the earth and the inner self. “These paintings are portals into a parallel world,” suggests the artist. “Life should exist with a true connection to the self; with rules governed by love, loyalty, care and truth. Explore deep within yourself, you’ll realise the real language of life. Connect to your energy, feed your energy and let it multiply until you feel it beneath your skin, control it, direct it towards your desired life and watch the magic happen.”
Through Behnam-Bakhtiar’s optimistic gaze, a once-dark world offers the promise of life. In paintings like Energy Within (2023) and Earth (2023) a palette of rust, mustard and the tones of the earth is punctuated with strokes of fresh white and sky blue. Behnam-Bakhtiar has deployed his signature peinture raclée style in order to summon biomorphic forms that recall the complex internal structure of trees. For the artist and his audience, the primal energy of nature presents an escape from a traumatic past. “Behnam-Bakhtiar’s latest energy paintings invite the viewers to grow with him on his path to recovery,” notes curator Kamiar Maleki. “Through this exhibition, viewers can spend time among the trees, the artist’s inner sanctum, connecting to something larger than themselves. We invite you to grow with these paintings and fully immerse yourself in Behnam-Bakhtiar’s practice.”
“We are delighted to be working in collaboration with Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar and Kamiar Maleki on this exhibition,” says Miety Heiden, Phillips’ Deputy Chairwoman and Head of Private Sales, Phillips. “This is a remarkable body of work which is not only visually captivating but also extremely thought-provoking. We look forward to opening the doors to our galleries on Berkeley Square and welcoming visitors in to explore this immensely engaging exhibition.”
The Age of Energy will be on view in Phillips’ London galleries on Berkeley Square between March 16-26.