Son of a portrait painter, Iranian artist YZ Kami grew up speaking the language of portraiture, but as his art practice matured, the identity of his sitters became less important. Now on view at Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea, enigmatic paintings of subjects known only to us by a name or descriptive identifier in the title represent specific individuals at close range who nevertheless feel as if they’re at a remove. Indistinctly painted contours, a deliberate softening of outlines, give each character a sense of existing at another point in time, perhaps as a memory. Downcast eyes suggest that the inner life is the subject of these intriguing but elusive paintings. (On view in Chelsea through Feb 25th).
Isaac in Purple Shirt, oil on linen, 58 ½ x 36 inches, 2022.
Merrily Kerr is an art critic and writer based in New York. For more than 20 years, Merrily has published in international art magazines including Time Out New York, Art on Paper, Flash Art, Art Asia Pacific, Art Review, and Tema Celeste in addition to writing catalogue essays and guest lecturing. Merrily teaches art appreciation at Marymount Manhattan College and has taught for Cooper Union Continuing Education.
For more than a decade Merrily has crafted personalized tours of cultural discovery in New York's galleries and museums for individuals and groups, including corporate tours, collectors, artists, advertising agencies, and student groups from Texas Woman's University, Parsons School of Design, Chicago's Moody Institute, Cooper Union Continuing Education, Hunter College Continuing Education and other institutions. Merrily's tours have been featured in The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Sydney Morning Herald and Philadelphia Magazine.
Merrily is licensed by New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs as a tour guide and is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA USA)
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