“A Light in the Dark” is the title of Amir Jadidi’s latest painting collection presented at In/Ja Gallery. Amir Jadidi has created his works by having a look at painting history, both in form and content. Apart from painting and drawing, he also works with monotype technique that has been experienced throughout the history by great artists such as Edgar Degas. In his encyclopedia, Ruin Pakbaz attributes this technique to Giovanni Castiglione in 1640 and calls it a deeply painted print.
With an approach to still life, artist has made a history-based emphasis in his media. Such a painting subject is as old as the art history, but here the artist tries to give importance to an unimportant object by a modernist narrative, in order to return the attention to the capability of the painting medium itself.
From the beginning of its emergence, still life has had a purpose appropriate to its time (whether during the ancient Egyptians who had a ritualistic and symbolic look, or during 15th and 16th century in Italy and Netherlands with an approach based on delicacy and sometimes religious were gaining symbolic values). This, in the works of Gauguin and Cezanne or modern progressive artists turns to be experiences to expanse the painting medium into everyday life. The question that now arises is that what would be the other achievement of stabilizing such subject in present time, other than having a genealogical look at the painting?
