Statement:

+2 is proud to present "Untimely," a solo exhibition featuring the works of Reza Abedini. The exhibition is set to open on Friday, December 15, 2023, and will run until Friday, January 12, 2023. This marks Abedini's second solo showcase at +2, following "Delimitation" in October 2021. His works were also showcased at the Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair in 2023, presented by the gallery.///

The written language and "line" as their constitutive visual elements blend in Abedini's works. Abedini invites the viewer to consider the visual and the meaningful to be intertwined. Reza Abedini has long focused on typography, studying its evolutionary arc.

Consequently, the influence of historical references, particularly from the Safavid and Qajar periods (17th-19th centuries), can be observed in his work. Abedini's paintings are neither typographical nor conceptual or parabolical. Instead, as evident from their titles, they bear a resemblance to sound or human states (such as “Whispers," 120 x 100 cm, or “Suspension," 100 x 200).

In these works, Abedini employs curves, connections, and disconnections of lines, encompassing everything a painter or designer might need. The difference lies in including the structures of words and sentences, where words refer to meanings.

The viewer reads the image from right to left, like reading a book. In front of these large canvases, the viewer shapes the concept, whether it be a visual or meaningful structure.

Abedini presented a show titled "Callidrawing" ("Tarrahi-Khat") in Ab/Anbar Gallery in 2015, straddling the border between design and line (line or "khat" in Persian also means "calligraphy"). His last exhibition at +2 Gallery, titled "Delimitation" (2021), continued his preoccupation with line. An imaginary line connects all the works to emphasize the interdependence of form and meaning once again in “Untimely."

Reza Abedini has continuously worked as an artist, designer, and researcher in typography, graphic design, and visual arts since 1989. Living and working in Iran, Lebanon, and the Netherlands, Abedini taught graphic design at the American University of Beirut.

In 2006, he received the Principal Prince Claus Award. His many achievements include the 1st prize for best film poster of the Fajr International Film Festival, Iran (1993); first prize, Best Film Poster of Fajr International Film Festival, Iran (1996); first prize and gold medal, 8th International Poster Biennial of Mexico (2004); first prize, 9th Press Festival of Children & Young Adults, Iran (2005); first prize, Mexico International Poster Biennial, "Reve de Sable,” Mexico (2005). He participated in the 6th Biennial of Iranian Graphic Designers, Iran (1999) and the Isfahan Contemporary Art Museum show with Azad Art Gallery (2018).

He also participated in Iran's first art fair, Teer Art, represented by 009821 Projects, Tehran (2020). He is a member of the Iranian Graphic Designers Society since 1997. He was a member of the jury at several biennials. He is listed in Meggs History of Graphic Design as one of the world’s outstanding post-digital graphic designers.