Born in Shiraz, Iran in 1964, Ghass Rouzkhosh was 15 years old when the Islamic revolution began. A year later, Iraq invaded, sparking a conflict that would last for eight years - making it the longest conventional war of the 20th century. For a young man, the war was unavoidable. Rouzkhosh spent two years as a soldier on the front-line, fighting Saddam Hussein’s forces. After his part in the conflict, Rouzkhosh left for Paris, where he hoped to exorcise the images of war that had pervaded so much of his early life.
Feelings of rage and memories of blood and violence lingered, but Rouzkhosh sought to master the negative aspects of his history and transform them into something therapeutic for himself and the general public. Painting became his primary mode of self-expression. For nineteen years, Rouzkhosh limited his palette to three distinct colors. Red was chosen to reflect the sky after a bombing, black in memory of burnt nature, and white as a traditional symbol of peace and innocence. In 2010, after the death of his parents, Rouzkhosh decided to introduce a fourth color, yellow, to his paintings. The new color came to represent a rebirth of sorts, a “hymn to life and hope.”
Rouzkhosh’s paintings are abstract, but orderly, with occasional spontaneous flourishes. Stylistically, his work sits at the intersection of Pollock and Kandinsky. Rouzkhosh’s geometric shapes are often loose and playful, playmates of dripping paint and scrawled numbers. The content itself is malleable, capable of adhering to stricter forms or becoming wildly unwound. Often, though, his work is a synthesis of order and chaos, an aesthetic pairing that succeeds despite its incongruous nature. Over time, the psychological portraits of war that Rouzkhosh began with have been replaced by equally remarkable examinations of the everyday. The old scars haven’t altogether faded, but they no longer take precedence. Today, hope triumphs.
About Agora Gallery
Agora Gallery is a contemporary fine art gallery located in the heart of Chelsea’s fine art district in New York. Established in 1984, Agora Gallery specializes in connecting art dealers and collectors with national and international artists. The art gallery’s expert consultants are available to assist corporate and private clients in procuring original artwork to meet their organization’s specific needs and budget requirements. With a strong online presence and popular online gallery, ARTmine, coupled with the spacious and elegant physical gallery space, the work of our talented artists, who work in diverse media and styles, can receive the attention it deserves. Over the years Agora Gallery has sponsored and catered to special events aimed at fostering social awareness and promoting the use of art to help those in need.
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