WASHINGTON—Pieces of artwork at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center are all special in their own light but some may just have another dimension to them. Literally.
Two pieces of work by Hadieh Shafie especially stand out because they actually stand out.
Both pieces feature paper handwritten and printed with the word “love” or “passion” in Farsi. The first piece titled “26000” pages was created in 2011 and features colored paper rolled up to make circles of various different sizes, and colors from all across the color spectrum. The piece is part of Shafie’s Katab Series and is owned by Shafie.
The second piece stands out even more than the first. Handcrafted in 2014 the work named “Spike 6” is made out of both acrylic and paper and features the acrylic and paper in a seemingly random arrangement that pops forward toward the center of each circle.
When standing at just the right location, a few steps away from the piece, the work seems to drift closer to the viewer as they focus and stare into the many mesmerizing spikes.
“It feels like it is coming at you,” said Melanie Pincus, 15.
The work is in a private collection.
On the second floor of the building lies a piece of work by Jess, named “The Enamord Mage: Translation #6.”
In the work, a man looks at a book, but when further inspected the painting reveals that it may be more as this painting has been built up in unlikely places such as a glop of paint that intrudes toward the viewer between two books. The piece of art does not have a flat surface and instead is jagged and rough.
“When you back up it is normal but when you get closer it pops out at you,” said Halle Jefferson, 16.
The two pieces by Shafie will be on display until Aug. 17 in The Franz and Virginia Bader Fund: Second Act exhibition at the Katzen Arts Center at American University in Washington D.C. The painting by Jess will also be on display until Aug. 17 at the Katzen Arts Center. It is in the An Opening of the Field: Jess, Robert Duncan, & Their Circle exhibition.
For more information visit Katzen Art Center’s website.