Untitled 1967

Behjat Sadr made this painting with bold strokes of red, ochre, and black, and it feels to me like she’s fearlessly chasing after something. Imagine her in the studio, maybe Tehran, Rome, or Paris, wherever she happened to be, making paintings that broke all the rules! The surface feels almost architectural. It’s like she’s building up layers, scraping them back, and repeating the process. It must have been thrilling and exhausting to make. I see hints of her personality, her drive and determination in each stripe. She's saying, "Here I am! I am here!" The rhythm and repetition remind me of Bridget Riley, or even Sean Scully. I reckon Sadr was looking at what her contemporaries were doing but doing it in her own, unique way. She's like, "I'm gonna take that idea and run with it, but I'm gonna make it my own!" Artists, we’re all magpies, borrowing and stealing from each other. And that's what makes it so exciting.