Untitled 1996

Javad Hamidi made this untitled painting sometime in the 20th century, and I love the way it embraces process and intuition. The dabs of colour used to build up the landscape are so clear, you can almost smell the fresh grass and feel the sun on your face. The texture is rough and full of movement, isn’t it? Hamidi doesn't try to hide his marks, he lets them sit on the surface like little jewels. Look at the sheep - the short, choppy strokes that create their wool, the light seems to shimmer across the forms. It reminds me that painting isn't just about representation, it's about the physicality of the medium and how we can use it to express our emotions. This piece seems both immediate and timeless to me. Hamidi reminds me of the French painter Camille Pissarro, another artist who found endless inspiration in the everyday beauty of rural life, and approached painting as a conversation. For both painters, ambiguity is not a weakness, but an invitation.