Marcus Matt and Samaneh Reyhani share their life and studio. They also share a sense for poetry and miracles. Artistically, however, their expressions are completely different
Samaneh Reyhani creates the same form, over and over again. Sometimes drawn in the shape of a vagina or a protective seashell. Sometimes it lies down, carved out in marble. Sometimes it flares up like a fire, mighty. At other times it envelops and encloses, lovers perhaps, or children. It resembles a flame, or a womb, but one with sharp edges. Reyhani’s other fundamental form is a large ring, sculpted in wood, which appears to be ablaze. It first appeared in her exhibition Executing Desire in 2017, painted, drawn, shaped. It reappears, now painted in the melancholic hue of dove blue, in a gallery exhibition in 2021. Here she envisions it as a symbol of unity, but also of the soul’s longing, djaan.
When Samaneh Reyhani came to Sweden in 2015, enrolled in the Master’s program at the Art Academy, she brought bitter experiences with her—as well as the rich treasure of Iranian poetry. She was used to being understood if she made a poetic reference among a poetry-loving people.
Reyhani transfers this rich poetic legacy to the realm of visual art. It is not necessarily the case that people who see her art need to be familiar with Sufi mysticism. She relies on her figures being recognized and understood far beyond specific cultural contexts. She hopes for a shared recognition of feelings. She shares this hope with some of the central artists of high modernism. Mark Rothko, Ad Reinhardt, and Constantin Brancusi were all convinced that the image was a membrane through which the artist’s mind made direct contact with the viewer.
Excerpt from exhibition catalogue text by Gertrud Sandqvist
Duo exhibition with Samaneh Reyhani
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Trelleborg Museum
Trelleborg, 2024
Exhibition catalogue