Y.Z. Kami: Paintings, Gagosian

This April, Gagosian London presents a selection of recent work by Tehran born artist Y.Z. Kami, who is best known for his ethereal, monumental portraits.
Y.Z. Kami biography
Y.Z. Kami initially trained to paint directly from life, but since the 1980s he has worked primarily from photographs of family, friends and strangers. Using a warm terracotta base layer with applications of matte paint, Kami is able to build his canvases to create richly detailed portraits with a unique hazy quality. 
Y.Z. Kami paintings
Kami’s figures are typically blown up in scale and closely cropped, inviting viewers to entertain a certain intimacy with his sitters. Often portrayed with their eyes closed, Kami’s meditative paintings go beyond photorealism to evoke the spirit of the model. 
Gagosian gallery London exhibition
Highlights at the Gagosian Britannia Street outpost include Y.Z. Kami’s multiple depictions of hands joined in prayer - a nod to his fascination with different faiths. Kami's looming faces of Man with Violet Eyes and the calm portrait of Ava are also particularly haunting. A curious collision with Y.Z. Kami's White Dome series makes for an interesting juxtaposition between the figurative and abstract, which seems fitting for Kami's Islamic Sunni roots in non-figurative art. The spinning patterns of these abstract works seem like an eruption of light, with pure white at the epicentre. 
Both traditional and refreshingly contemporary, Kami’s reflections on the face reach out through the haze of his delicate brushstrokes to offer a universal yet personal insight into human nature at this Gagosian show.