#OPEN WITH KAMI SERIES#

In the third work on view, 'Rumi-The Book of Massanvi e Manavi,' the artist reproduces verses from Rumi's masterpiece of Sufi philosophy and poetry, the Mathnavi.

Gently blurred and with eyes closed, the subjects of these paintings have a haunting presence that both engages and withdraws from the viewer's gaze.

#OPEN WITH KAMI SERIES#

The exhibition presents two of his large-scale portraits, 'Untitled' (2005) and 'Untitled (Marina I)' (2007), from his current series of portraits of individuals in a state of meditation. Rendered with a restrained palette and composition, each portrait conveys a still, otherworldly presence. Many of his early portraits, often compared to the ancient funerary portraits from El Fayoum, Egypt, depict anonymous sitters gazing directly at the viewer. Since the mid-1980s, Kami has focused on the human face and the expressive possibilities of the painted portrait. A student of philosophy and Sufism, Kami creates works that draw on both Eastern and Western aesthetic traditions to explore the relationship between physical form and spiritual essence. Kami' presents two works from the artist's recent series of large-scale portraits and one mixed-media work that incorporates verses by the poet Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273). 'Perspectives,' the Sackler Gallery's five-year program of contemporary art installations in the pavilion, resumes with an exhibition of new works by Y. Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, African Art.

Open with kami