Timo Nasseri’s Artworks in Ab-Anbar

TEHRAN – (Iranart)- T he German-Iranian artist, Timo Nasseri, has chosen Ab-Anbar Gallery to hold his first solo-exhibition in Tehran.

In what he has named ‘I Saw a Broken Labyrinth’, some of the artist’s sculptures and sketches created through the years of his career are on display, Honaronline reported.

Born in Berlin in 1972 to a German mother and Iranian father, Nasseri studied Photography at Lette-Verein Institute, a school in Berlin.

In the early years he was drawn to people’s portraiture, but later for his graduation project he opted for medical photography and documenting surgical procedures.

His journey to Iran in 1997 attracted him to the subtleties of Islamic-Iranian art and culture, particularly geometrical forms of Muqarnas.

Muqarnas is a form of architectural ornamented vaulting or the geometric subdivision of a squinch, or cupola, or corbel, into a large number of miniature squinches, producing a sort of cellular structure. In Islamic-Iranian architecture, Muqarnas can usually be found over doors and in ceiling decorations. They symbolize stars and the sky.

Nasseri’s Muqarnas artworks, however, are not a precise imitation of Iranian architecture. They are placed on walls rather than ceilings, made of steel rather than tiles and mirrors. Apart from its appeal and attraction, his works challenge the perspective and view of the audience.

Some of the drawings on display are from his collection ‘One and One’ in which he has used a ruler and a compass with white ink on black paper. The works are also based on the construction of Muqarnas.

Another part of Nasseri’s works are small drawings which appear to be quite similar to drawings of mathematical and geometrical rules and patterns. While observing these, the viewers are able to read numbers or recognize some patterns in them, although incapable of coming up with the ultimate reading.

Through the sketches, Nasseri questions legibility and deals with the issue that the concept every sign and pattern stands for can vary based on the audience view and the context.

The artworks will remain on display at the gallery, located at No.2, Roshanmanesh Alley, Khaghani St., Enghelab St., till November 23.