PAYAM Ashena: Meeting Pantea’s Art

Meeting Pantea’s Art
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By Bijan Tehrani on 12/11/2011 17:09:00


I encountered Pantea Cyrus’ paintings while surfing on the web. Pantea’s
paintings are shockingly beautiful and she was kind enough to answer my
questions about her work. Pantea Cyrus lives in Iran and I hope we get a chance
to see her work in US galleries soon.
Bijan Tehrani: When and how did you start to paint?
Pantea Cyrus: I started painting when I was a teenager. I was taught by Aydin
Aghdashlou, one of the greatest painting masters and I still have the chance to
benefit by his comments.
BT: You have developed your own style of painting. There are countless painters
focusing on nature, but you have your own touch. Please tell us about it.
PC: I think my paintings are influenced by the scenery in which I was raised. I
have always been inspired by mysterious clouds, delusive fogs, and frightening
valleys versus safe residents with their lights on in the middle of a landscape.
Paintings with watercolors and the task of moving the huge glass framed
paintings becomes a difficulty, so I was encouraged to work with acrylics whose
limitations are less. Since starting to paint with acrylics, my method has
changed. The new method has been influenced by the changes of my personal and
social life. It is even greatly affected by the social changes in Iran to the
extent that my paintings were seriously censored for a while. In the summer of
2010 they showed the exhibition on TV.  Iranians watched as many abstract
paintings as they could. The paintings were censored (by pixels), but you could
see the visitors watching each painting for a long time.
BT: Did being a woman have an impact on your work as an artist?
PC:  I don't really know how it feels being a man in Iran, but being a woman in
this country isn't that easy. You can see the reflection of these problems in my
acrylic paintings.
BT: Are there painters who have influenced your paintings?
PC:. Rembrandt and Klimt.
BT: What has been the reaction of critics and ordinary people to your work?
PC:  People always liked my exhibition. They were fascinated by the size and
colors of my watercolor works.
Being in different pieces, nature, delusive scenery, and cold colors in my work
were really interesting for watchers. In my acrylic works, however, they're more
into finding a point, a meaning or form. They're excited to know what is going
on in my paintings, and I'm fond of this excitement.
Different pieces and the colors of the background connected the audience to my
older works. Therefore, it prevents a kind of stranger anxiety.
BT: Please tell us about exhibitions with which you have been involved.
PC: I have had many solo and group exhibitions in different Galleries in Tehran
such as Golestan Gallery, Pasargad, and Shirin.
I think the best way to have such information is to visit my site
www.panteapaint.com .
BT: Please tell us a little bit about your background.
PC: I was born in Tehran and I graduated from the Art and Architecture
University of Tehran. I studied industrial design. I love painting and sports.
Hiking, swimming, tennis, and skiing are my favorites. I have allocated much
time to do sports, and I've sometimes gone on trips just for the sake of sports.
I guess painting and sports both means a lot to me.
BT: How long does it take for you to finish a painting?
PC:  I can't easily answer this question. Working time is different; it depends
on the size of the work or the tool of painting.
According to what I have said or not said, I can add that totally watercolor
needs you to work very fast. You have very little time for change or correction.
The wet in the wet phase ends very soon and it's time for wet in the dry phase.
I don't have enough time to paint my instant feelings.
But with acrylics, I have more time. Although I use many of watercolor
techniques here, there is naturally more time to spend for background colors,
drying time, and monitoring. Generally speaking, working with water color needs
you to paint faster.
BT: Do you start painting instantly as an idea comes to your mind or you spend
time studying the idea?
PC: I have experienced both. I usually think for a while, then start practicing,
and imagining or sometimes read a bit. Sometimes, I take up very fast. I start
painting on my canvas, and I go on as fast as I used to work with water color.
BT: You are using both watercolor and acrylics to paint. How do you decide which
one suits a certain painting?
PC:  I think I've already mentioned it many times. The methods are different,
but I can't avoid some similar impressions. I admit I like this dependency or
connection. It gives me the impression of a nuclear family.
My watercolor works  contain more figurative elements of nature such as trees,
fog, valleys, or sometimes pots. They were all inspired by my mind and a bit
expressive, but my acrylic works do not contain much of a figure; they are
closer to abstract. This kind of painting is called figurative abstract so there
are still my older impressions shown although there are some changes in feeling,
say, the motivation of flying. I admit both my personal feelings and social
changes in Iran have affected my new works, but there are still many connections
at the end.
BT: Many of your paintings include several panels. Will you tell us about them?
PC:  While I was working with watercolors, I tended to paint in bigger sizes, so
I started to use more canvases beside each other. It became like a character for
my work. The tendency to draw and paint huge figures is still with me in the
acrylic works. I really enjoy it very much.
BT: What do you foresee in the future of your career?
PC:  I work very hard between five to ten hours a day. I see a very great future
for my work. I hope to have some exhibitions abroad. I really need the opinions
of a foreign audience. I am hoping to have my own studio in New York sometime,
where I will be painting the whole day.