Aziz Anzabi

Navigating abstraction and figuration, Aziz Anzabi’s artwork evokes a symbolic grammar, both biographical and collective. Anzabi’s fantastical landscapes - his moving humans, his uncertain and distorted forms are deeply personal, yet simultaneously universal. 

Anzabi’s encounters with iconic figures from Iranian contemporary art, such as Bahman Moasses and the poet, Sohrab Sepehri, have radically influenced his vision. In his paintings, Anzabi embodies concepts of exile and oppression; he explores novel paths into the idea of free speech, while shaping psychic surrealisms; his intent is to awaken us to his perception of violence hidden within an over-standardized world.

By borrowing from the ancestral Qajar tradition, Anzabi becomes both craftsman and alchemist. This clever mix of technicality linked with concepts surrounding memory and loss gives life to powerful works - unconscious testimonies and timeless sequences that question our immediate future. 

“I want to mix tradition into contemporary art because I think that Qajar art is the only style that is solely Iranian, with it’s own unique framework and techniques.”