Garden of Light

Taking care of ourselves, of others, of objects and feelings. I can already visualize Hiva Alizadeh (Tehran - Iran, 1989) in his studio, gently caressing his works, pam- pering, arranging, brushing them. Daily gestures, full of affection and intimacy. How not to think of little girls playing mom with dolls and Barbies, caressing our loved ones before falling asleep, cuddling our doggies.

Alizadeh's works are deeply rooted in the ancient Persian tradition, in particular in the millenary technique of Kerman rugs weaving. The merchants presented them as carpets on which it was possible to walk every day, for a hundred years, wi- thout damaging the texture and the splendid decorative medallions that branch out from a central geometry, often red in color. However, the use of synthetic ma- terials, such as hair extensions that we find in all of his works, perhaps invites us to reflect on the results of a globalization that has been devastating entire areas in every corner of the planet for decades.

The contemporary interpretation of the tradition belonging to the artist's country of origin, where he still lives and works, is accentuated by the psychedelic and cosmopolitan effect obtained with lively and colorful palettes. For the first time, Ali- zadeh presents three sculptural and installation works, which descend from the walls where they are usually placed, conquering a three-dimensional space and being activated by colored lights that are so reminiscent of the 80's ballrooms and more recently the Karaoke clubs. I am immediately catapulted into Lost in Transla- tion by Sofia Coppola: Scarlett Johansson, bright pink wigs, endless nights, taxis driven by white-gloved drivers and crazy drunken rides back home.

East and West collide. We forget ideologies and religion, stories and the future, focusing on a present formed by complex plots, inspired by the Iranian morpho- logy and landscape or the rural region that Alizadeh constantly visits. They are maps, photographs, testimonies of a curious traveler always looking forward to what lies beyond the hill.

The artworks are alive, moved by the air and as static as kinetic - there is no right, unique, determined position. Each stroke of the brush gives a new life to sculptu- ral paintings, which allow the artist to rework, brushstroke after brushstroke, can- vases where the paint never seems to dry.

Edoardo Monti