27 October, 2014 - 13 November, 2014

Solo Exhibition

Nedim Kufi

New body of works provokes a never-ending inspiration to interpret the beauty of nature. An Iraqi-Dutch multi disciplinary visual artist, Kufi is based in the Netherlands. Kufi’s art spans many genres and includes a variety of subject matter. A multi-faceted artist, he is also a graphic designer and a film maker. To him art is an exhilarating and of late, Kufi has been attempting to transcribe nature onto canvas. Kufi continues restlessly to test the expressive limits of his own art. Giving his own interpretation, of seasons, the project marks Kufi’s reflective journey on the myriad seasons of life. His latest work is a joyful affirmation to the seasons which he displays with his vocabulary of muted colors.The pieces are painstakingly created from recycled materials such as flowers, leaves, twigs, jute and flecks of pigments, all in all to be wrraped in paperbags which add a dash of mystery to his tranquil canvases and play a key role in defining his work. Kufi’s art has rhythm and balance. It is so enchanting that you almost want to recite Robert Frost. The glorious winter wind, the glimmer of the moon, the rustling sound of pallid yellow leaves in autumn, or the beauty of a crisp sunny day, his art has it all. It offers a renewed hope. While commenting on his work, Kufi says, “I am like a small curious child running on a windy day with a kite in my hand, moving in whatever direction of vanishing point it takes me. “I am intrigued by the myriad shades and endless beauty of nature. To me the seasons are visible reminders of my life spent in solitude,” says Kufi. “My paintings are about my personal exploration. They are are a dialogue between my past and present. Sometimes I ask myself, what is the starting point in my life or art. “My work is a portrayal of the diverse moods of nature. Through the raw elements and my techniques, I want to create a world of my own, a world that is blissful, serene and joyful, just like the summer season.” he is merely observing the dramatic changes in the garden and not the mummification of natural elements. “The teacher is always ‘nature’; we are little students in art school,” says Kufi. He further says that by our visual thinking we can add positivity to our life. “I visualize my world through my tools and techniques and try to portray them in a simple manner and at the end of my artistic journey, my endeavour is to provoke the viewer,” states Kufi. He loves to experiment with art materials and creates his images in a wide variety of media Each piece is carefully built up layer by layer, which lends a stunning intensity. Within each art work one can recognize a “recycled” element. “I believe in distilling and recycling my thoughts , just as the dried flower and leaves that I have incorporated in my work. I can say that I make use of the mixed- media to document my mixed–feelings peace, harmony,and joy or the various moods and lingering memories of life in general,” he continues. “Well, you could say that I am trying to establish my own Arabic Zen that pushes me gently like an explorer in my quest for spiritual enlightenment”, “I firmly believe that art must stir emotions and I try to churn the abstraction into something more tangible to create strong visual statement. However, at the end, I merely want my viewer to come out of his self-imposed exile and enter the realm of my art,” concludes Kufi.