12 April - 5 May 2024

Showroom Studio Aatifi, Ravensberger Straße 47, Bielefeld, Germany

Opening: Fri., 12 April 2024, 6 p.m.

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Untitled 1  I  150 x 180 cm  I  Acrylic on canvas I  Aatifi 2024

Photo: Studio Aatifi

Even on a grey day, light seems to flood the entire room: The new exhibition by Bielefeld artist Aatifi, Das Innere der Form, in the showroom of his studio is characterised by the new paintings with colour compositions in various shades of yellow, lighter and darker shades of blue and white. The show at Ravensberger Straße 47 in the backyard begins on Friday, 12 April 2024 at 6 p.m. with a vernissage and ends on 5 May 2024. It is open during the Nachtansichten.

Reduced abstract-scriptural forms and lines characterise the three works in large format and smaller formats on canvas. They are embedded in geometric patterns and more expressive structures that convey light and lightness with their colouring: The majority of the new paintings are characterised by yellow ranging from soft to strong, green splashes like imaginary leaves, soft orange-red and delicate shades of pink. Only the first work in the 2024 series stands out with a triangular, deeply luminous sea of tiny drops of colour, impressively framed by striking blue and white shapes. The new paintings, delicate and powerful in equal measure, are particularly in keeping with the title of the exhibition, seeming to reveal their innermost selves.

Photo: Studio Aatifi

The presentation is rounded off by ink drawings from 2023 and previous years, with the work on heavy French laid paper, Verve 2, in the format 100 x 150 centimetres from the previous year, hanging freely on the wall, clearly taking centre stage. Also on display are atigraphies that combine various printmaking techniques on one sheet and figurative unique prints with narrative motifs from the Small Mysteries series.

ohne Titel  2  I  160 x 190 cm  I  Acryl auf Leinwand  I  Aatifi 2024 (links)

ohne Titel  3  I  90 x 120 cm  I  Acryl auf Leinwand  I  Aatifi 2024 (rechts)

25 November 2023-28 January 2024

Showroom Studio Aatifi, Ravensberger Straße 47, Bielefeld, Germany

Opening: Sat., 25/Sun., 26 November 2023, 12–6 p.m.

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Photo: Studio Aatifi

In the winter months, the Bielefeld artist Aatifi once again focuses on bright, intense colours. The exhibition is thus characterised by works with great radiance, including fresh ink drawings with metal in the format 100 by 150 centimetres on 640 gram French laid paper. The current exhibition in the ground-floor showroom comprises around two dozen works on canvas and paper in large, medium and small formats.
 
Six large and medium-format prints on handmade paper in shades of purple and blue in silver aluminium and wood frames are exhibited at the major international art fair Art Miami in Florida from 5 to 10 December 2023. The artist is also integrating some of these expressive large formats on French laid paper into his Bielefeld exhibition. Here, the ink drawings with expressive colour spills on around 90 square metres correspond with expansive paintings and figurative 'Aatigraphies' from the 'Small Mysteries' series - new portraits in the form of unique graphic works that combine various (printing) techniques on one sheet. A documentary film about his work will also be shown.

Verve 4  I  100 x 150 cm  I  Ink on laid paper 640g  I  Aatifi 2023 (left)

Verve 2  I  75 x 90 cm  I  Ink on laid paper 640g  I  Aatifi 2023 (right)

22 April–21 May 2023

Showroom Studio Aatifi, Ravensberger Straße 47, Bielefeld, Germany

Opening: Sat., 22/Sun., 23 April 2023, 12–6 p.m.

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Photos: Studio Aatifi

Aesthetics, intense colouring and vivid lines unite all of Aatifi’s works. Mysterious shapes and lines and often expansive compositions characterise the abstract-scriptural works on canvas and paper, including untitled paintings from the recent past or ink drawings in bright violet and pink gradations with expressive elements from the new 2023 series Verve. In the bright, approximately 90-square-metre showroom on the ground floor of the rear building, current and recent works are displayed in small, medium and large formats. The way the exhibition is presented and Aatifi’s unique, characteristic pictorial language, in which the forms and lines seem to move beyond the edge of the picture and connect with each other, create a special arc of tension.

18 September-17 October 2021

Showroom Studio Aatifi, Ravensberger Straße 47, Bielefeld, Germany
Opening: Sat., 18 September 2021, 6 p.m.-1 a.m. (Bielefelder Nachtansichten)

Juxtaposition: ink drawings by Aatifi such as 'Verve 24' (right) and graphics by Mark Tobey such as 'To Life' (left).

Repros: H. Hachmeister (left) and Wolfgang Holm (right)

One is considered a pioneer of abstract expressionism in the USA, the other has developed his own abstract-scriptural formal language. In the exhibition Abstract - Aatifi and Mark Tobey, the works of both artists come into contact with each other: Works on canvas and paper by Aatifi are juxtaposed with prints by Mark Tobey.
Calligraphy-like brushstrokes by Tobey correspond with dynamic shapes and lines by Aatifi, 'White Writings' with scriptural abstraction, colour etching and serigraphy with acrylic on canvas and ink drawing. Around 30 paintings and works on paper are juxtaposed in the current exhibition - works from 2020 and 2021 by Aatifi and a series of prints by Mark Tobey (1890-1976). The Afghan-German artist, who has worked nationwide and internationally from his Bielefeld studio for two decades, presents works by the US artist, who worked from Basel, Switzerland, from 1960 until the end of his life. Tobey, who studied calligraphy and painting in Japan, developed his 'White Writing' style around 1935; in 1958 he took part in the Venice Biennale, and in 1962-63 he received a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art New York.

12 April-12 May 2019

Showroom Studio Aatifi, Ravensberger Straße 47, Bielefeld, Germany
Opening: Fri., 12 April 2019, 6-9 p.m.

Verve 13  I  120 x 110 cm  I  acrylic on canvas  I  Aatifi 2019 (left)

Everyday Magic  I  19 x 38.5 cm  I  colour etching  I  Georges Braque 1959/68 (right; Repro: Kunsthandel Müller-Held)

Paintings and ink drawings by Aatifi from 2018 and 2019 are presented, and one room is dedicated to colour etchings and lithographs by the artist Georges Braque.
In Aatifi's work, the colour blue stands for Afghanistan's high-quality lapis lazuli deposits. Blue and white characterise the paintings of the Bielefeld artist from the 'Verve' series of 2018 and 2019. The pictorial compositions with reduced forms, sweeping lines and excessive splashes unfold an expansive effect. On display are over 30 works, alongside in addition to paintings in various formats, powerful, luminous ink drawings and abstract figurative graphics.
One room in the exhibition is dedicated to Georges Braque (1882-1963). Works on paper from the 1950s and 1960s are on display: Colour etchings from the series 'La Magie quotidienne' ('Everyday Magic') and 'Poissons' ('Fishes') as well as the lithographs 'Profil grec' I and II ('Greek Profile' I and II). Throughout his life, Braque was on the lookout for truthfulness and perfection in reduced expression.