An exhibition at The Third Line, June 19 – July 30, 2013 ‘The Arrangement’ by Amir H. Fallah

Amir H Fallah / Circling The World To Return, 2013 / Courtesy of the Artist and The Third Line

For this project, Fallah studied the floral still life paintings of the Golden Age and used iconic visual vocabulary to merge them with contemporary painting techniques that are present within his practice. Each painting in the exhibition is based on a seminal floral still life by a Dutch/Flemish master and has been reinterpreted and rearranged in both its visual and physical form.

The referenced artworks have been put through a methodical process of dissecting the imagery, element by element, first in digital form and then in the execution phase. Floral elements are lifted from their context and placed anew in compositions that continually change as they are worked upon. Fallah builds the work in layers, adding collaged printouts, reproduced images as well as painting directly below and above these layers. In doing so, the artist has been able to strip apart the process of classical still life painting and give each element a separate identity and importance in the new compositions, thus reimagining the historical images. Flowers that were once painstakingly painted in oil have been transformed into digital reproductions; leaves that wove in and out of the painting have been replaced by colored paper cut-outs in geometric shapes; Trompe l'oeil insects and creatures are now remade into abstractions; and colors that were once dark and sullen are bright and flamboyant.

Through a starkly different interpretation, this series of paintings not only questions the notion of appropriation throughout art history but also presents a fresh and electrifying take on one of the most iconic painting motifs throughout history – and in doing so, creates a new arrangement.

Amir H Fallah / Rearranging The History Of The Unknown, 2013 / Courtesy of the Artist and The Third Line

Amir H Fallah / Left image: Infinity Joins Us Together, 2012 / Right image: The Sun And The Moon Align As One, 2013 / Courtesy of the Artist and The Third Line

Amir H Fallah / Unknown portal, 2012 / Courtesy of the Artist and The Third Line

Amir H. Fallah

Amir H. Fallah was born in Tehran, Iran in 1979. He received his BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2001 and his MFA from University of California Los Angeles in 2005. His artistic practice encompasses painting, drawing and sculpture – all reflecting Fallah's characteristic style of merging collage with complex patterning, which is decidedly ornate but also addresses primary painterly concerns. Often working with photographs of sets or scenes created by him, he uses the initial composition as a starting point, working in layers of manual and digital manipulation towards a final image. Throughout his body of work, Fallah uses elements of chance and his graphic aesthetic to guide him through the process. His works address a nexus of idiosyncratic topics, culling influences from personal narrative, art history, pop culture and imagined experiences alike.

Fallah has exhibited extensively in solo shows both in the United States and in the Middle East. He was featured in several international group exhibitions in venues including University Art Museum at California State University Long Beach; 9th Sharjah Biennial, Sharjah, UAE; Lancaster Museum of Art and History, Lancaster, CA, USA; and Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC, USA. His works are housed in prominent collections such as The Salsali Private Museum Collection.

The Third Line

The Third Line is a Dubai based art gallery that represents contemporary Middle Eastern artists locally, regionally and internationally. The Third Line also hosts non-profit, alternative programs to increase interest and dialogue in the region. Represented artists include: Abbas Akhavan, Ala Ebtekar, Amir H. Fallah, Arwa Abouon, Babak Golkar, Ebtisam Abdulaziz, Farhad Moshiri, Fouad Elkoury, Golnaz Fathi, Hassan Hajjaj, Hayv Kahraman, Huda Lutfi, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Laleh Khorramian, Lamya Gargash, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Pouran Jinchi, Rana Begum, Sahand Hesamiyan, Sherin Guirguis, Shirin Aliabadi, Slavs and Tatars, Sophia Al-Maria, Tarek Al-Ghoussein and Youssef Nabil.