Artists: Kamrooz Aram, Iman Issa
Exhibition title: Lives of Forms
Curated by: Silvia Franceschini, Tim Roerig
Venue: Z33, Hasselt, Belgium
Date: May 1 – August 1, 2021
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artists and Z33, Hasselt
Lives of Forms is the first two-person exhibition of Kamrooz Aram and Iman Issa. This exhibition explores how both artists engage with the political significance of aesthetic forms.
Iman Issa reimagines existing artworks and monuments. Whereas the form of an artwork or monument normally remains unchanged over time, its meaning changes as a result of social developments. Issa’s works seek new forms for these changing meanings. How can they convey the meaning of an idea, public figure or historical event?
Kamrooz Aram explores the role of ornamental forms in modern art. He thereby challenges Eurocentric versions of art history in which ornamental art is often seen as a lesser art form. His work combines paintings and collages with sculptures that evoke the display methods of decorative arts museums. In this way, Aram questions the influence of exhibition design on the interpretation of art objects.
Kamrooz Aram, Andata (Luster on Blue Glaze), 2021. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium. Courtesy the artist and Green Art Gallery, Dubai. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Kamrooz Aram, Andata (Luster on Blue Glaze), 2021. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium. Courtesy the artist and Green Art Gallery, Dubai. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Kamrooz Aram, Andata (Luster on Blue Glaze), 2021. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium. Courtesy the artist and Green Art Gallery, Dubai. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Iman Issa, Village (Study for 2019), 2019. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium. Courtesy the artist and Rodeo, London/Piraeus. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Exhibition view of Lives of Forms: Kamrooz Aram & Iman Issa at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium, 2021. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Iman Issa, Massacre (Study for 2019), 2019. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium. Courtesy the artist and Rodeo, London/Piraeus. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Iman Issa, Self-Portrait (Self as Hannah Arendt), 2021. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium. Commissioned by Z33. Courtesy the artist and Rodeo, London/Piraeus. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Iman Issa, Book of Facts: A Proposition, 2017. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium. Courtesy the artist and carlier | gebauer, Berlin. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Exhibition view of Lives of Forms: Kamrooz Aram & Iman Issa at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium, 2021. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Exhibition view of Lives of Forms: Kamrooz Aram & Iman Issa at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium, 2021. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Iman Issa, Material for a sculpture representing a monument erected in the spirit of defiance of a larger power, 2012. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium. Courtesy the artist and Rodeo, London/Piraeus. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Exhibition view of Lives of Forms: Kamrooz Aram & Iman Issa at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium, 2021. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Iman Issa, Material for a sculpture representing a bygone era of luxury and decadence, 2012. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium. Courtesy the artist and Rodeo, London/Piraeus. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Exhibition view of Lives of Forms: Kamrooz Aram & Iman Issa at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium, 2021. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Iman Issa, Material for a sculpture commemorating an economist whose name now marks the streets and squares he once frequented, 2011. Detail. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium. Courtesy the artist and Rodeo, London/Piraeus. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Kamrooz Aram, Palimpsest 50 and Palimpsest 51, 2019. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium. Courtesy the artist and Green Art Gallery, Dubai. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Exhibition view of Lives of Forms: Kamrooz Aram & Iman Issa at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium, 2021. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Exhibition view of Lives of Forms: Kamrooz Aram & Iman Issa at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium, 2021. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Exhibition view of Lives of Forms: Kamrooz Aram & Iman Issa at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium, 2021. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Kamrooz Aram, Composition with Lapis Lazuli, Cobalt and Ceramic Bottle, 2021. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium. Courtesy the artist and Green Art Gallery, Dubai. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Kamrooz Aram, Composition with Glazed Bricks, Susa, 2021. Detail. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium. Courtesy the artist and Green Art Gallery, Dubai. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Exhibition view of Lives of Forms: Kamrooz Aram & Iman Issa at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium, 2021. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Exhibition view of Lives of Forms: Kamrooz Aram & Iman Issa at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium, 2021. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Kamrooz Aram, Composition with Fragments, 2017. Detail. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium. Courtesy the artist and Green Art Gallery, Dubai. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
Kamrooz Aram, Untitled (Arabesque Composition), 2020. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Belgium. Courtesy the artist and Green Art Gallery, Dubai. Photo: Selma Gurbuz
