Statement:

Sigrid Burton and Farzad Kohan share a profound engagement with abstraction — Burton through her sensuous use of color and Kohan through his layered, tactile paintings. Both artists’ works navigate the formal interplay of color and form with rich layers of cultural symbolism and personal history. The works in this exhibition allow viewers to immerse themselves in the convergence of these two distinct artistic voices, exploring the universal language of abstraction that bridges the gap between individual narratives and collective expressions.///

Sigrid Burton's watercolors delve into the forms and mark makings inspired by the natural world — referencing botanical and oceanic anatomies, celestial frameworks, diagrams of constellations, and disparate alphabetic systems. Burton's watercolors carry the weight of her contemplation of space and idiosyncratic mark-making, exploring the ways in which color, line, implied movement, and patterning inform our experiences. The compositional elements are intended to be ambiguous yet evocative, establishing a common language of forms and a shared cross-cultural use of symbols.

Similarly, the constellation of signs and symbols that constitute Farzad Kohan’s collaged paintings reflect an exploration of diverse cultural motifs, creating a visual lexicon that transcends boundary and space. Through his process, Kohan creates layered and weathered surfaces that embody chaos and methodical accumulation. The use of appropriated media and found objects becomes a metaphor for the diasporic experience, where diverse elements converge to tell hidden stories. Kohan's incorporation of Farsi and Arabic script adds a rich narrative layer, revealing moments of longing, desire, and exodus.