Opening
reception:
September
5,
5:30
to
8:30
pm
“A
calligraphic
impulse
has
been
behind
some
of
the
greatest
works
of
Modern
Art.”
-
Jeffrey
Deitch
"This
show
makes
connections
between
pivotal
artistic
movements
across
cultures
that
have
informed
each
other's
creative
processes.
Just
as
the
graffiti
movement
emerged
from
the
economic
and
social
turmoil
of
the
1970s
in
New
York,
it
is
now
no
surprise
that
some
of
the
most
groundbreaking
street
art
is
burgeoning
all
across
the
Middle
East.
Calligraphy
as
an
art
form
is
part
of
a
Middle
Eastern
collective
memory
and
as
it
continues
to
evolve,
we
are
now
witnessing
a
kinetic
dialogue
between
these
movements
that
will
no
doubt
leave
their
mark
on
history."
-‐-‐
Leila
Heller
Leila
Heller
is
pleased
to
announce
Calligraffiti
1984/2013,
on
view
from
September
5
–
October
5,
2013.
Originally
curated
in
1984
by
Jeffrey
Deitch
(Director,
Museum
of
Contemporary
Art,
Los
Angeles)
at
Leila
Heller’s
former
uptown
gallery,
Calligraffiti
explored
a
myriad
of
possible
connections
shared
between
the
seemingly
disparate
styles
of
select
mid-‐century
abstract,
U.S.
graffiti,
and
calligraphic
artists
from
the
Middle
East
and
its
diaspora.
By
presenting
an
expanded
and
updated
roster
of
artists
including
site-‐specific
installations
by
emerging
and
established
artists
30
years
later,
Calligraffiti
1984/2013
re-‐examines
the
global
impact
of
street
art
and
calligraphy
as
converging
modes
of
personal
expression,
popular
culture,
and
political
dissent
mutually
grounded
in
arrogating
the
systems
of
language.
Featuring
more
than
50
works
by
artists
ranging
from
Jackson
Pollock
and
Lee
Krasner;
Hans
Hartung
and
Cy
Twombly;
Keith
Haring
and
Jean-‐Michel
Basquiat;
and
Hossein
Zenderoudi
and
Pouran
Jinchi,
the
exhibition
will
also
include
site-‐specific
installations
by
emerging
and
established
artists.
LA2
will
be
creating
an
installation
in
Leila
Heller
Gallery’s
front
room
visible
from
25th
street,
while
Tunisian/French
artist
eL
Seed
will
be
painting
a
mural
in
the
11th
Avenue
windows.
An
illustrated
catalogue
with
an
introductory
text
by
Jeffrey
Deitch
will
accompany
the
exhibition.
Brief
Background
For
centuries,
calligraphers
from
the
Middle
East
have
visually
transcribed
verses
from
the
Ayah
and
concepts
surrounding
Divine
Infinity
on
public
buildings
and
mosques
by
presenting
the
written
word
as
art.
In
modern
times,
movements
ranging
from
Dada,
Surrealism,
Tachism,
and
Abstract
Expressionism
have
all
incorporated
elements
of
writing
and
language
into
their
abstractions.
Most
recently,
contemporary
artists
such
as
Hossein
Zenderoudi,
Parviz
Tanavoli,
Hadieh
Shafie,
and
Pouran
Jinchi,
whose
work
will
be
on
view,
have
transformed
traditional
Arabic
script
in
order
to
create
new
abstract
shapes
and
gestural
marks,
augmented
by
color,
poetry,
or
rhyme
which
bridge
distinctions
between
nationalities,
generations,
and
beliefs.
As
a
means
of
political
and
social
commentary
and
through
name
bombing,
graffiti
and
street
art
exploded
in
the
1960s
throughout
North
American
cities.
During
the
early
1970s
in
New
York,
the
arrival
of
aerosol
spray
paint
solidified
graffiti’s
impact
on
the
urban
landscape
with
words
and
tags
accompanied
by
elaborate
cartoon-‐
inspired
images
seen
throughout
the
city
and
particularly
on
subway
trains.
By
the
1980s,
elimination
efforts
by
local
city
councils
and
transit
authorities
proved
futile
as
graffiti
writers
began
actively
working
in
London,
Berlin,
Paris,
and
beyond.
During
the
early
1980s,
the
development
of
a
definitive
graffiti
style
by
New
York
artists
such
as
Keith
Haring
led
to
its
rapid
acceptance
within
the
art
world
via
exhibitions
at
galleries
and
museums.
Closely
tied
to
hip
hop’s
popularity,
graffiti
continued
its
global
expansion
throughout
the
1990s,
though
more
as
a
commercial
phenomenon.
From
December
2010
onwards,
graffiti
has
swept
across
North
Africa
and
the
Middle
East
as
a
highly
visible
means
of
political
protest,
attracting
a
new
wave
of
interest
and
reclaiming
its
importance
as
an
unconventional,
revolutionary
art
form.
Featured
Artists:
Carla
Accardi, Etel
Adnan, Yasmina
Alaoui, Ayad
Alkadhi, Massoud
Arabshahi, L’ATLAS, Assurbanipal
Babilla, Ben, Zigi
Ben-‐Haim, Jean-‐Michael
Basquiat, Julien
Breton
&
David Gallard,
Jean
Degottex,Jean
Dubuffet, Mohammed
Ehsai, eL
Seed, Keith
Haring, Keith
Haring
and
LA2, Hans
Hartung, Nir
Hod, Shirazeh
Houshiary, Isidore
Isou, Bill
Jensen, Pouran
Jinchi, Franz
Kline, Rachid
Koraichi, Lee
Krasner, LA2
(Angel
Ortiz), Farideh
Lashai, Maurice
Lemaitre, Eugene
Lemay, Reza
Mafi, Hassan
Massoudy, Farhad
Moshiri, Shirin
Neshat, Alfonso
Ossorio, Faramarz
Pilaram, Leila
Pazooki, Jackson
Pollock, Mehdi
Qotbi, ROSTARR, Hadieh
Shafie, Niels
“Shoe”
Meulman, Ramellzee, Retna, Roland
Sabatier, Alain
Satie, Behjat
Sadr, Nasser
Al-Salem, Esrafil
Shirchi, Pierre
Soulages, Pat
Steir, Parviz
Tanavoli, Tee
Bee, Mark
Tobey, Cy
Twombly, Rob
Wynne, Hossein
Zenderoudi
Press
Contact:
Cecilia
Bonn,
Cecilia
Bonn
Marketing
and
Communications,
cbonn@nyc.rr.com
/
212-734-9754
www.leilahellergallery.com