Excerpt from the Essay ” Farideh Golbahar, Critical Analysis ” by Timothy Warrington 2017, International Confederation of Art Critics:
FARIDEH Golbahar is an artist that is difficult to define within a specific line of thought or style . ……. . Of course, an important aspect of Farideh’s creation is also that her artistic output is unusual in its quality as well as in its style.
Historically speaking , there are fascinating juxtapositions and diverse influences from numerous traditions that come together for analysis, challenged and uniquely interpreted in the conception of Farideh’s work.
On deeper reflection, Farideh seems to also have a huge affinity with nature, however not in the traditional sense …….. In Art, nature has been the subject of many expressions but in a different manner. This artist, without necessarily depicting nature as such, shares the serenity, depth and balance that one takes for granted when viewing a flower. Alas, Farideh does paint nature at times but does not fabricate or capture it as one would expect from an artist – her artworks actually have the ability to share some of the qualities that make nature itself special.
1942 Born in Teheran, Iran
1959-61 Studied at the Teheran University
1961-63 Studied and painted in London
1963-69 Studied and painted in the city
Karlsruhe, Germany
1971 Lives in Jerusalem, Israel
Awards
2005 The Ministry of Education and Culture Prize 2005, “To Encourage Creativity”.
2007 The Jerusalem Artists` House Prize of “ Mordechai Ish-Shalom “ for
“Significant Contribution to Israeli Art”.
Excerpt from the Jury’s decision:
“Throughout her years of artistic practice Farideh Golbahar has succeeded in creating a rich and intricate body of work, while remaining persistent and loyal to her commitment to develop, broaden, and elaborate her view of nature and the flower. The visible and psychic landscapes which she creates on paper are spawned through a sophisticated interdisciplinary dialogue replete with cultural allusions to different chapters in the history of art: from Persian painting through Impressionism to American action painting. Farideh’s artistic voice is original and independent, courageously fighting to preserve the accomplishments of the private, personal, refined and magical in a violence-ridden existential and visual setting governed by collective images. “For this reason her contribution to Israeli art is significant and unique.”
Jury: Prof. Yigal Zalmona; Dr. Hedva Ish Shalom; Magdalena Hefetz.
Yigal Zalmona is an Israeli curator, art critic and historian, born in Tel Aviv. Master’s Degree in art at the Sorbonne in Paris. He wrote his master’s thesis on Jean Dubuffet, who pioneered the theory of ” Low Art “, what is called now ” Outsider Art “. Zalmona wrote his doctorate on the “Eastern influences on Israeli Art in the early 20th century” ).