Aphel

Known for his intricate sculptures and extremely precise drawings, Nasseri exhibits his work in a solo show for the first time in Madrid. Combining Islamic and Western cultural heritages, his work is inspired as much by specific memories and religious references as by universal archetypes described by mathematics and language, and the inner truths of form and rhythm.

Borrowing the title from the astronomical concept of the aphelion, the exhibition brings together a selection of sculptures and drawings dating as far back as 2015 and as recent as 2022, in an elliptical journey that encompasses the whole artistic practice of the artist.

All the works in the exhibition revolve around the ideas of infinity, light, and mathematics; essence and form. Inspired by the ill-fated story of Ibn Al Muqla or by Borges’ shorts stories and fables, Nasseri lays down an exhibition that invites the viewer to explore their own boundaries in those of the works, and to experience space and time in a different way.

The show includes sculptures like Mesh #5, a wall sculpture that interplays with light and the sculpture  own shadows, and Babel III, composed of multiple layers of steel plates that are overlaid and separated by magnets, creating a playful optical illusion. In these works light and perception play a big role. As Borges often explores the idea of light and shadow in his stories, Nasseri often uses light and shadow in his installations to expand the dimensionality of space.

The show continues with the drawing I saw a broken Labyrinth #15, a painstaking work executed by hand composed of a myriad of lines that interlock in one point and then diverge from each other; and I saw all the letters in all the stars, a group of drawings that represent possible constellations in the hugeness of the universe and all its infinite possibilities. In cue with Borges’ idea of the Infinite Library, the artist makes the proposition that in certain locations of the universe, these constellations could actually exist. These works explore the idea of infinity and its vast and ungraspable nature.

Mathematics also plays an important role in Nasseri's work. Drawings like New Black and Tsai Khaldun explore mathematical possibilities; and the exhibition is completed with Nasseri’s work Radiance #1, a mathematical fractal wall sculpture exploring the idea of infinity and the complexity of the universe. The mirrored work, made of highly polished stainless steel, reflects everything but the subject who is viewing the work. Like the real comprehension of the concepts of infinity and the size of the universe, the sculpture is eluding us.