Hamidreza Fotouhi

Fotouhi was born in 1973 in Tehran and studied at the College of Engineering, University of Tehran. As a self-trained, he initiated his professional experiments at the beginning of the 80s. In 1995, he was introduced to the art scene by participating in the first sculpture biennale. At the same time, he was engaged in stage design, decors, and photography in the field of cinema and television which continued until 2013.
Fotouhi presented his professional self in sculpting during the 2010s, leading to over 15 group exhibitions and holding three solo exhibitions. He was also a member of the Association of Iranian Sculptors and Association of Art for Peace. As of his most important group exhibitions are 30 sculptors, 30 sculptures in Athens, Iranshahr gallery’s Insomnia, and Shams gallery group exhibition in Paris.

“Not So Far East”

The word “oil” has been the object which determined the economic range, social class, and the power system structure in the Middle East. Disregarding the political borders, the growth of western soft colonialism and its cultural impacts during the recent centuries could be the most important factor of the development and stagnation of the oil-dependent societies which were damaged by various political approaches. Oil seems to be a stimulating commodity, by achieving which the dreams are fulfilled. It is the wounded body that teases, infects its surrounding lands, provides facility and luxury, and has the potential to create a passive, self-indulgence society with high expectations. Oil-maintenance turns the society into a middle-class and transforms it. The deception of oil powers in the Middle East has targeted the middle-class participation in the oil reserves, aiming at practicing standards that normally result in imposing war, luxury, and cultural corruption on the Middle East.
The oil profits and transactions are actions and reactions in which things might be achieved or lost and a situation would be created as a result. Hamidreza Fotouhi concentrates on this process. He has created this collection with the ready-made barrels, assembling pre-made figures, and combining them with signs and materials that have reached to the oil-relevant societies’ visual culture. The artist has created simple yet deep, meaningful concepts, attempting to share the created situation with the audience by interacting with the subject matter. He then, aims at creating a connection between the subject and the object, considering the audience as the subject to reveal the hidden relations and respectively, involves the society at the situation he provides to share the answer with.
Eisa Jabari Mamaqani