MANIJEH YADEGAR ELEMENTAL | PART II 6 MASONS YARD 3 - 26 October 2018
ZULEIKA GALLERY 3 October - 26 October 2018 6 Masons Yard St James's London SW1Y 6BU
Cover Image:Â
C3 - 2011 oil on canvas, 71 x 83.8cm (28 x 33 in)
For Manijeh (1951-2016) Manijeh Yadegar’s untimely death robbed us of a artist of exquisite sensibility whose quietly authoritative paintings were just beginning to find a wider audience. Her husband, the sculptor Nigel Hall, has taken it upon himself to initiate a programme of exhibitions and publications which will help to make her work more familiar to a national and international audience. I feel privileged to be involved, however marginally, in this process, for I am a long-standing admirer of Manijeh’s remarkable gifts, and wish to share my enthusiasm for her paintings. These are the first thoughts in a developing appreciation. Manijeh had a grand independence of spirit, and a breadth of vision paradoxically operating within carefully determined constraints. The skin or derma of her paintings is subtly modulated, as if worn and abraded by the passage of time, partly cloaking and partly revealing, revelling in contrasts (hard and soft, hazy and defined, light and dark), the focus shifting from precision to blur in minute increments. Her colours are immensely evocative: meditative but also sensual, of the empyrean yet also earthy. Indian red, violet, ochre, blue-black: colour is suspended in the strong oceanic rhythms of surface incidents. These paintings and drawings transmit light, gathering it within themselves and projecting it back to the viewer. Manijeh usually began her paintings by laying down on the canvas an impasto ground of a solid, earth colour, and then working over it with veils of liquid oil or acrylic paint of different densities. The paintings derived their potency from the interaction of these varying layers and textures, from the skilled interweaving of light, colour and space into a serene yet vibrant harmony.Â
Her drawings are really paintings on paper, carried out again in oil or acrylic on previously prepared paper, specially textured to work with and against the application of the paint. The brush or comb marks on the paper offer a kind of sub-structure to respond to, lightly ridged and rippled. That formal dialogue of applications is the subject of these delicate but rigorous studies. The directional movement of the paint marks across the paper or canvas also deliberately echoes the journey of the artist’s body backwards and forwards across the surface as she worked. Although these paintings have points of reference in the observed world, their surface textures recalling the bark of trees, the ribbing of sand in deserts, cliffs of cloud, eroded stone frontals, animal hide, purling water and the grain of leaves, they are also studies of nuance of form stretched from near to far, of movement and composure, of layering and intensity. However, Manijeh’s single-minded exploration of formal concerns was not a conceptual cul-de-sac but a fruitful dialogue with the world we inhabit; both abstract and organic. Even though a painting may resemble light biscuity mud drying on the dark hull of a sailing ship, it is a precise artistic construct, held in stasis by the will and formal control of the painter who created it. Manijeh’s paintings are meditative and generate spiritual energy. They are inner landscapes, maps of the spirit, statements of simplicity, directness and profundity.
She wrote of her paintings: ‘They develop observations of the natural world into completely abstract images; memories of places, moments in time, the transition between night and day, dawn to dusk. The contrast of mist against mountain, or the traces and stains of detritus in the urban landscape, all inform the visual language. To this list could be added the influence of music, particularly jazz. The works are made in such a way as to slow down the moment at which they are sensed visually and physically.’ Manijeh contended that the act of making a painting and the act of looking at it were not only intimately related but closer in spirit than often appears - if each were carried out with an attentive mind, an open heart and full concentration. She required us to absorb the experience of her paintings rather than simply to look at them. Many people see but do not observe; Manijeh asked us to go one stage further, and share the experience of her paintings. (Remember the old Chinese saying: ‘It is better to feel a painting than to look at it.’) Robert Hughes called for slow, thoughtful, skilled art in this age of instant gratification and net-surfing. Equilibrium and repose are in short supply in the world’s jangle. Manijeh Yadegar made beautiful paintings which demand slow and thoughtful attention, close study and careful consideration. She worked with integrity and conviction, trying to focus her art at ‘the still point of the turning world’. She wanted us to take time looking at her work which, in turn, had taken time to make. And she wanted us to be aware of time passing, to experience time through her paintings. Let us now give her time. Andrew Lambirth August 2018
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) Self-portrait, 1978 signed, inscribed and dated 'Manijeh Yadegar/camberwell school of Art/Sept 1978 5-6' (on the canvas overlap) oil on canvas 91 x 75.5 cm (35 7/8 x 29 3/4 in) Not for sale
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) Yellow and Green, 1988 signed, inscribed and dated 'Manijeh Yadegar/Camberwell School of Art March 1980{?}/1-6', signed again and dated 'Manijeh Yadegar 88' (on the canvas overlap) oil on canvas 106.7 x 91 cm (42 1/8 x 35 7/8 in) ÂŁ7,000+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) U40-c94, 1994 oil on canvas 28 x 24 cm (11 1/8 x 9 1/2 in) £1,800+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C12-97, 1997 oil on canvas 36.8 x 41.8 cm (14 1/2 x x 16 1/2 in) £2,500+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) U45-c06, 2006 oil on canvas 37 x 41.7 cm (14 5/8 x 16 3/8 in) £2,500+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C23-01, 2001 oil on canvas 29 x 24 cm (11 3/8 x 9 1/2 in) £1800+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C21-01, 2001 oil on canvas 29 x 24 cm (11 3/8 x 9 1/2 in) £1800+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C2901, 2001 acrylic on canvas 28 x 24 cm (11 1/8 x 9 1/2 in) £1800+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C4-04, 2004 oil on canvas 29.4 x 24.2 cm (11 5/8 x 9 1/2 in) £1,800+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C13-97, 1997 oil on canvas 152 x 187.7 cm (59 7/8 x 73 7/8 in £12,500+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C4-01, 2001 oil on canvas 127 x 152 cm (50 x 59 1/2 in) £10,500+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C22-02, 2002 oil on canvas 36.7 x 41.7 cm (14 1/2 x 16 3/8 in) £2,500+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C1-03, 2003 oil on canvas 36.6 x 41.6 cm (14 1/2 x 16 3/8 in) £2,500+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C7-03, 2003 oil on canvas 37 x 41.7 cm (14 5/8 x 16 3/8 in) £2,400+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) U23-2013, 2013 with inscription 'U23 2013' (on canavs overlap acrylic on canvas 36.9 x 41.8 cm (14 1/2 x 16 1/2 in) £1.800+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C13-98-99, 1998-1999 oil on canvas 17.6 x 20.4 cm (6 7/8 x 8 1/8 in) £1200+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C9-1998, 1998 oil on canvas 36.9 x 42 cm (14 1/2 x 16 1/2 in) £1950+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C24-99, 1999 oil on canvas 17.5 x 20 cm (6 7/8 x 7 7/8 in) £1200+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C25-99, 1999 oil on canvas 20.2 x 20.2 cm (8 x 8 in) £1,250+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C5-08, 2008 oil on canvas 15. 2 x 10.3 cm (6 x 4 1/8 in) £550+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C6-08, 2008 acrylic on canvas 15. 3 x 10.2 cm (6 1/8 x 4 1/8 in) £550+VAT
C20-00, 2000 oil on canvas 17.5 x 20 cm (6 7/8 7 7/8 cm) £2450+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C3-03, 2003 oil on canvas 36.8 x 41.8 cm (14 1/2 x 16 1/2 in) £2,500+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C2-2012, 2012 acrylic on canvas 20.2 x 20.2 cm (8 x 8 in) £1,500+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C19-2013, 2013 acrylic on canvas 30.4 x 30.4 cm (12 x 12 in) £2750+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C6-07, 2007 oil on canvas 40.4 x 45.6 cm (15 7/8 x 18 in) £2,250+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) U7-2008/C18-01/C24.00 (Tripytch), 2008 two signed 'Manijeh' and all inscribed respectively 'U7-08, C18-01, C24.00' (on the canvas overlap) oil on canvas 29.2 x 24 cm (11 1/2 x 9 1/2 in) each (3) ÂŁ5000+VAT for all 3 or ÂŁ1800+VAT individually
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C3-2011 oil on canvas 71 x 83.8 cm £5,500+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C2-2013 36.7 x 41.7 cm (14 1/2 x 16 3/8 in) acrylic on canvas £2250+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) U42-c2015, 2015 with inscription 'U42-c2015' (on the canvas overlap) acrylic on canvas 15 x 20.3 cm (5 7/8 x 8 in) £550+VAT Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) U47-c2013, 2013 with inscription 'U47-c2013' (on the canvas overlap) acrylic on canvas 10.2 x 15.3 cm (4 1/8 x 6 1/8 in) £575+VAT Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C5-2013, 2013 with inscription 'C5-2013' (on the canvas overlap) acrylic on canvas 15.2 x 20.3 cm (6 x 8 in) £650+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) W15-2014, 2014 signed 'Manijeh Yadegar', with inscription and date 'Diffused Pythalo green/W152014/acrylic on board' (on the reverse) acrylic on board 25.3 x 30.5 cm (10 x 12 1/8 in) £1750+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) DIFFUSED CARMINE 1 (W11-2014), 2014 signed and inscribed 'Manijeh Yadegar//acrylic on board', with inscription 'DIFFUSED CARMINE 1 (W11-2014)/acrylic on board' (on the reverse) acrylic on board 25.4 x 30.4 cm (10 x 12 in) £1750+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C14-00, 2000 signed 'Manijeh' and with inscription 'C14'00' (on the canvas overlap) oil on canvas 18 x 20.1 cm (7 1/8 x 7 7/8 in) ÂŁ1300+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C19-02, 2002 signed 'Manijeh' and with inscription 'C19-02' (on the canvas overlap) oil on canvas 20.9 x 20.2 cm (8 1/4 x 8 in) ÂŁ1350+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C3-08, 2008 signed 'Manijeh Yadegar' and with inscription 'C3-08' (on the canvas overlap oil on canvas 17.8 x 20.2 cm (7 1/8 x 8 in) £1500+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C8-08, 2008 with inscription 'C8-08' (on the canvas overlap) oil on canvas 61 x 61.2 cm (24 1/8 x 24 1/8 in) £3500+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C8-2013, 2013 acrylic on canvas 15. 2 x 15. 2 cm (6 x 6 in) £900+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) U76-03, 2003 oil on canavs 36.3 x 41.5 cm (14 3/8 x 16 3/8 in) £2,400+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C3-2014 acrylic on canvas 12.6 x 17.6 cm (5 x 6 7/8 in) £625+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C1-08, 2008 signed 'Manijeh Yadegar', with inscription 'C1-08' (on the canvas overlap) acrylic on canvas 60.7 x 60.8 cm (23 7/8 x 24 in) ÂŁ3500+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C4-07, 2007 signed `Manijeh Yadegar' and with inscription `C4-07' (on the canvas overlap) oil on canvas 20.2 x 20.2 cm (8 x 8 in) ÂŁ1500+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C8-2013 acrylic on canvas 36.7 x 41.7 cm (14 1/2 x 16 3/8 in) £2,400+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C1-2014 acrylic on canvas 36.9 x 41.9 cm. (14 1/2 x 16 1/2 cm) £2,400+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) U74-03 oil on canvas 36.7 x 41.7 cm (14 1/2 x 16 3/8 in) £2,500+VAT
Manijeh Yadegar (1951-2016) C6-02, 2002 oil on canvas 36.8 x 41.8 cm. (14 1/2 x 16 1/2 cm) £2,500+VAT
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