Dubai Art Gallery: The Third Line is proud to present Laleh Khorramian’s Zenith and Nadir, in her second solo exhibition at the gallery.

Featured in this exhibition, I Without End (6.20 min) is a time-lapse animation, which captures a couple carved out of orange peels, sensually entwined to one another. The couple are at times androgynous, coarsely comical but intensely engaged, their heads skewed in place with the visceral violence of a Francis Bacon painting. The absurdity of the material as a sensual metaphor depicts the unfolding intimacy of two individuals. Upon close inspection and the alteration of time, the figures lie somewhere between the living and dying. They are essentially decaying to a rhythmical breath, engaged in movement until the moment all moisture is finally gone.

The setting of I Without End is a large yet intimate dwelling with windows of various shapes, styles and sizes. Green as a Heart is a rose window that is seen in the house that Khorramian has replicated in stained glass. The physical aspects of the house seem almost religious in nature echoing a sacred space and touching upon other relationships, that between death, religion, spirituality and the history of its relationship with sexuality.

The title Zenith and Nadir refers to the astronomical term for the imaginary sphere whose core starts at the center of the earth and circles the point of the heavens immediately over the head of the spectator (Zenith) and the opposite point, immediately beneath the spectator (Nadir). In this context Khorramian uses the term in an expressive means, as the cycle of birth and decay, the impermanence of matter and the life force to evolve. Playing on the extremes of love, longing, passion and loss, characteristic of every human creature.

Also screening with this exhibition is I Without End….Meanwhile, a subfilm exploring other aspects of the domestic environment in which the couple dwell. I Without End is the third of five animations, which combine the mediums of drawing, painting, collage and cinema. Each of the animations being constructed around one of the five essential elements - earth, fire, air, water and space, I Without End being inspired by fire.

In other works on paper, Khorramian mono-prints and drawings in oil, crayon, collage, pen and ink are never too far removed from her animations, since they provide the fertile source material for them. In these works, microscopic, remote landscapes roll behind fragmented figures with narratives embedded again and again.

About Laleh Khorramian

Laleh Khorramian was born in Tehran, Iran. She studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design. Following this she completed a Bachelor of Fine Art at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2004 she completed her MFA at Columbia University, NY.

Zenith and Nadir is Khorramian’s fourth solo exhibition. She has exhibited extensively internationally, including exhibitions in America, as well as Paris, Moscow and Lebanon. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships including The Pollock-Krsasner, The Gottlieb and the Agnes Martin Award.

Art Galleries in Dubai

The Third Line is an art gallery representing contemporary Middle Eastern artists in Dubai, creating paths that ultimately lead to a dialogue between the artists and the public. In May 2008, The Third Line opens a gallery in Doha, to expand the representation of art in the region.

Along with traditional gallery offerings, The Third Line organises non-profit, alternative programs including Kutub, a bi-lingual Arab literature appreciation circle and a Documentary & Arab Feature Film Series; and, along with 4 other creative groups The Third Line co-organizes Pecha Kucha Dubai, an international multimedia forum for creatives and designers.

Represented artists include: Abbas Akhavan, Ala Ebtekar, Amir H Fallah, Amna Al Zaabi, Arwa Abouon, Ebtisam Abdul Aziz, Farhad Moshiri, Fouad Elkoury, Golnaz Fathi, Hassan Hajjaj, Hayv Kahraman, Huda Lutfi, Lamya Gargash, Laleh Khorramian, Mona Marzouk, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Neda Hadizadeh, Pouran Jinchi, Raghda Bukhash, Rana Begum, Remi Arora, Shezad Dawood, Shirin Aliabadi, Susan Hefuna, Tarek Al Ghoussein and Youssef Nabil.