Hojat is a multi-talented artist, working in a variety of media and styles, be it photography, painting, calligraphy, figurative or still life subject matter. He is unique, in that he has the ability to make Iranian art accessible to an international audience. Instantly recognisable as Iranian, he does not dwell on the negative aspects of the culture, from which so many of his fellow artists draw their inspiration.

Raised in a very traditional family, Hojat Amani was familiarised with traditional art, and began working as a calligrapher during his teenage years. To the artist, calligraphy has been a signifier of liberation and purification, which through its repetition he feels acts as a mantra. Wanting to move away from traditional forms of art, Amani left home in search of contemporary methods of expression. During his time at university, he was introduced to art history, and became interested in integrating the modern and traditional. His goal was to give viewers a cathartic purification and a promise of freedom from the difficulties of contemporary life.

Amani believes the commodification of art is the primary preoccupation of many, rather than appreciation of artistic merit. He believes art represents beauty and has a much deeper purpose than that of just a material or financial purchase and therefore uses his art as a way of recreating his imagination and sharing it with others. Although Amani has experienced the hardships which are a result of war, he specifically chooses not to focus on it in his work. He prefers to create beautiful images, intending to provide some form of relief and escapism from the harsh realities of many of his countrymen.

He states, “The success of the traditional artist comes when people can approach his art and find grace, pleasure and peace in it."

PRESS:

ART RADAR

PERSIANESQUE MAGAZINE

DEEPA GOPAL SUNIL