Azar Alsharif (b. 1984, Iran) lives and works in Bergen, Norway. She was educated at Bergen Academy of Arts and Design (‘11). Solo exhibitions include; Natural Habitat Remix, Tag Team Studio, Bergen (17); Grains Of Golden Sand, Kunsthall Oslo (15); False Is More Than Real, Trykkeriet, Bergen (15); All these shimmering things. They fade so quick., Galerie SPZ, Prague (13); The distant things seem close (…) the close remote (…), ENTRÉE, Bergen (13); Before You Can See You Gotta Learn How To read, Galleri Fisk, Bergen (11); Knowledge Is Faithful, Rom 8, Bergen (12) and 7 Sonnets On Grace, Hovefestivalen, Arendal (12). Her works have also been shown at Kunsthall Stavanger (14, 19), The 11th Gwangju Biennale, South Korea (16), Gallery Futura, Prague (16), Syntax, Lisbon (17), Hordaland Kunstsenter (18), Bergen and KODE, Bergen (19).
In her first exhibition at MELK titled “The Conclusion” Alsharif presents two bodies of work comprising overlapping elements of collage, painting and textile. The works in the exhibition spring from Alsharif’s rudimentary methods and processes where the collage often acts as both an abstract and figurative starting point.
The images found on the walls are inspired by text and landscape, which are results of play and experimentation with scanned textiles, painting, monoprints, symbols and an abstract alphabet. Whereas the sculpture series DNA # I-III consist of framed collages and assemblages with dual sides, placed in stands draped in textile. The sculptures appear to be mobile beings that carry the idea of place as something mental, made up of memories and dreams.
Alsharif’s work is often based on found images and juxtapositions of different elements and symbols that form a new whole via simple abstractions or interventions. Her work touches upon topics such as subjective perception, time, and value.
“I think of it as an opportunity to express myself lyrically in a visual way; an open approach to questions of authenticity and the subconscious. My personal understanding of collage is as a comprehensive artistic method; including reduction, abstraction and generally all forms of change of the already existent. In my work, I try to make the original material more elastic and change the pace of the reading of an image.”
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