Maryam Hoseini is an abstract artist on the rise. Her work consists of fluid imagery that exudes themes of discovery, identity, anxiety, and strength. Hoseini was born in Tehran, Iran in 1988. Her interest in art sparked at the age of 13, when she began taking an art class at school. Not only was she inspired by her teacher’s abilities, she was empowered by her teacher’s bravery to be such a strong woman in a place like Iran. Hoseini’s fascination in art grew as a teenager, as she quickly amassed hundreds of her own drawings. Her passion for art prompted her to major in Graphic Design at Sooreh Art University in Tehran. She earned her bachelors degree in 2012, which led her to move to the US to complete MFA programs from Bard College and the School of Art Institute of Chicago. She became a member of the Endjavi-Barbé Art Projects, a collective promoting Iranian contemporary artists, in 2013. She’s currently working out of a studio in Brooklyn.
As far as her art style goes, she primarily uses paint and pencil drawings to make pieces that represent her opinions of gender, sexuality, and politics. She often considers herself a drawer, not only because of her drawing roots, but because of her back and forth method of layering drawings and paintings.
In her early artwork, Hoseini explored topics of humor and fear. Her love for dark humor stems from growing up watching comedy horror films from the 70s,80s, & 90s. While she was adopting macabre humor into her work, she was also dabbling in surrealism. She’s quoted saying, “The main idea of surrealism is what that attracts me the most. An attempt to create an idea beyond the reality that seems possible and actual.” She has successfully pushed beyond reality in her work, but recently she has been straying from surrealism, turning her focus towards abstractionism.
In an attempt to obscure the politics of identity, Hoseini began her shift in abstract art by cutting off the heads of her figures. Her older work was often driven by the presence of a face, so this shift marks a big change in her work style.
Hoseini developed her Princess and Princess in the Garden series of pieces by conjuring an imaginary environment where women performed acts of violation and pleasure. Her emphasis on the human body, specifically female figures, explores her ideas about identity, gender, and sexuality. To Hoseini, the female body can represent power, vulnerability, anxiety, love, and inspiration. Ultimately, she sees herself in most of her work. Her use of fragmented body parts represents her experiences in life, especially as a female immigrant. She describes her bodies as having anxiety, but she’s transferring the anxiety to power and courage throughout her paintings.
Currently Hoseini is intrigued by how the space around a painting affects the way we view it. Her recent endeavors have involved painting gallery walls to enhance and extend her art, while attracting the viewer’s full attention one piece at a time.
Works Cited:
https://art21.org/watch/new-york-close-up/maryam-hoseinis-every-day-abstractions/
https://collectionair.com/exhibitions/5-maryam-hosseini
https://www.racheluffnergallery.com/artists/maryam-hoseini/16
https://www.ruyamaps.org/journal-features/maryamhoseini
http://www.mojganendjavi.com/artists/hosseini/profile.html