Wave

Painted in 2010, Nasrollah Afjehei's Wave is a magnificent example from the artist's oeuvre. Heavily inspired by nature, Afjehei captures the essential power of the earth and sea through delicate and tightly written calligraphic strands. Standing in front of the canvas, the viewer is confronted with areas of shifting concentrated calligraphic components, which gently bend, expand and contract to simulate the curve of the crashing waves, colliding in a commanding and overwhelming sense of movement and dynamism.

By combining large forms with tighter, more condensed areas of calligraphic elements, Afjehei also manages to convey a sense of perspective within Wave. The viewer is instantaneously transported into a world where the water is all encompassing, the subtle crashes of the waves speaking as if phrases of poetry. The black and brown tones imply a sense of strength and energy, a reference to the mighty power of the sea that is to be respected as well as admired. Very much a believer in the universal power of calligraphy and words, Afjehei uses script in a similar way to minimalist artists who use fields of colour to express emotion rather than recognition and association.

With angles in the script meticulously thought out and put together in a culmination of power and emotion, Afjehei's Wave truly is an exceptional work.