re-title.com

Navid Nuur
THE MAIN REMAIN

Paris: 57, rue du Temple, September 06 – October 11, 2014
Opening: September 6, 5-8 pm

Galerie Max Hetzler, Paris is delighted to announce THE MAIN REMAIN, the first solo show by Dutch artist of Iranian descent Navid Nuur.

Nuur's work focuses on the notions of images, text, concept and perception turning unusual materials in what he calls «interimodules»: a neologism from affixing the words «interim» for their conditional and temporary aspect and «modules» as parts of a unit. Each exhibition can be perceived as a Gesamtkunstwerk, the core point residing in the interaction between the works (interimodules) and the viewer. Endlessly experimenting in several directions, Nuur uses a large diversity of materials, which are almost never art related. Unexpected forms feature a quite bold simplicity.

For his first exhibition at Galerie Max Hetzler, trying to materialize a concept in the most candid way, without getting contaminated by our technical knowledge, Nuur invites the viewer to project him/herself at the centre of the creative process and to wonder: how does an idea becomes a form? A recurrent question among artists.

Thus, Recaptured from the Collective, an imposing 4-metre high tower erected in front of 85 drawings can be seen as a tribute to an idea, or more precisely as a material celebration of the subtle moment of inspiration. About his process, Nuur says: «When we have an idea and want to record it on a piece of paper, a large part of it gets lost as we need first to be able to draw and to know how to use our body in order to reach this goal. An idea or a concept that we have in mind vanishes easily when it leaves our mind/body. What I do is to hold a black marker above a pile of small pieces of paper while I concentrate on this very precise idea that I wish to visualise. I don’t draw, I just let the idea shape in my mind and simultaneously the ink will spill through the pile of paper. After a while the ink stiffens and I can’t any longer keep the idea. I get tired of so much concentration (…) Then, using Styrofoam, I cut enlarged shapes after the ones left on each paper (…) Once all the shapes are assembled on top of each others, appears a 3D structure which has it’s own identity, loaded with inner energy. A concept that we could touch, which is pure, while its content and meaning remains enigmatic.»

A thought is expressed in a sensitive and palpable work that goes through experiments, failures or casual surprises, and that requests an interaction with the viewer in order to connect with the development of the initial idea.

Ice cubes that do not melt, a “neon-light bulb”, a levitating object, an image that appears only if we flash-photograph it, a serigraph out of toothpaste or a necklace worn by the gallery assistant, are among the various visions featured in this exhibition. As many traces of all sorts of enigmas or questions swinging between the weight of the materials and their oniric effect.

As he stated in the title of a recent book, “When text becomes my ex”, art is a language to learn and to live with. Its signs, means, words or material belong only temporary to the artist, who acts as a mediate

Born in 1976 in Teheran, Nuur lives and works in The Hague (Netherlands), where in 2011 he received the Royal Painting Prize. Solo shows in institutions include Dundee Contemporary Art (2014), Parasol Unit in London (2013), Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht (2013), Bergamo (2012), Kunsthalle Friedricianum, Kassel (2009) S.M.A.K, Gent, (2009) among others. In 2012, his work was on display at the Centre Pompidou in the Children’s Gallery, and simultaneously in an exhibition he co-curated, The Image in the Sculpture. Nuur participated in several group shows including the Venice Biennale (2011), and published a number of artist’s books.