Untitled 2008

Mostafa Dashti's painting is made with dark, moody colors and bold, sweeping gestures. It looks like it emerged through a process of layering and wiping away paint. I imagine Dashti working on this piece, maybe late at night, lost in thought, pushing the paint around, figuring it out as he goes. The paint is thick in some areas, creating texture and depth. See how those dark colors evoke a sense of mystery. The blurred, almost-there quality of the paint offers us a glimpse into the artist's process. I see him wrestling with form and meaning. I think that painting is not just about representation, but about feeling, about mood, about the physicality of the medium. Dashti is part of a long line of painters who’ve explored the possibilities of abstraction. From the dark romanticism of a Turner seascape to the more recent abstract painters, artists are constantly building on each other’s ideas. It’s an ongoing conversation! And this painting is just one little piece of it, full of ambiguity and room for interpretation.