Farhad Nikfam
Farhad Nikfam (b. 1987) is an iranian-azeri painter living & working in Baku, Azerbaijan. Raised at the crossroads of post-soviet, south caucasian and persian cultures yet influenced by a romanticized image of western world of the 90's and 2000’s, the artist discovers and explores new worlds, where all of these coexist. Firstly discovered and published in New American Paintings Magazine at the start of pandemic in 2020, Farhad Nikfam’s paintings depict the space where the artist managed to unite the objective reality and his fantasies - whether it be his own design of a beer bottle he would prefer to drink from or of an armchair he would like to sit on, or fanciful scenarios where only portal for a mermaid to escape an apartment building could be a toilet bowl. Numerous plots embedded in each of the recent paintings are united by a common form - a shelf in a mobile phone store, or a common facade of a building, or a bouquet, but are autonomous per se. Inspired by the freedom of primitivism in works of Henri Rousseau, as well as by industrial design (his first field of studies), Farhad creates new forms of daily life - angular and naive at the same time. The eye-catching sharpness and directness of lines are combined with the straightforward childlike perception, love for bright colors and non-ergonomic technology objects from the 90s. In his own words, the artist should live life to the fullest to tell his own story.
Hi Farhad, tell us about your background. How and when did you first start to paint?
Hi, I am Farhad Nikfam (b. 1987) an
iranian-azeri painter living & working in Baku, Azerbaijan. Despite painting intensively since childhood and being State Academy of Arts graduate, I started painting only some 5 years ago. The main reason for that was my OCD which I wanted to tame into the boundaries of art making process. Raised at the crossroads of post-soviet, south caucasian and persian cultures yet influenced by a romanticized image of western world of the 90's and 2000’s, I discover and explore new worlds, where all of these coexist.
How do you begin to work? What is your process like?
The most of my art making process happens outdoors which I consider as the main part when I go for a walk to take a break from painting. I observe the surroundings and listen to hard-bop a lot. That is where I generate new ideas which I implicate the next day whether to my existing piece on which I'm working or keep them for the next one. So in my studio I do 4-5 hours of routine work.
3. How do you unite reality with your fantasy in your work?
In my paintings I depict the space where I managed to unite the objective reality and my fantasies - whether it be my own design of a beer bottle I would prefer to drink from or of an armchair I would like to sit on, or fanciful scenarios where only portal for a mermaid to escape an apartment building could be a toilet bowl.
Buildings, shelves and architecture can be seen in your works. What is the story behind them?
Numerous plots embedded in each of my paintings are united by a common form - a shelf in a mobile phone store, or a common facade of a building, or a bouquet, but are autonomous per se. Because when you get inspired by many things and situations everyday, especially using my hypertextual style, you should collect them in such a format that every statement should stay actual.
How has the city you live and work in influenced you and the art you create?
I guess the whole idea of places you were born or you live in influenced me in a negative way and that is why I'm inspired more by an imaginary borderless world with equal rights for anyone no matter one's skin color, gender identity or religion. Because we all are humans in the end. And I do believe in power of art in shifting changes in society and sparking minds for achieving this peaceful coexistence.
Describe a real-life situation that inspired you.
The last real life inspiration I remember of came from the acceptance of the fact that I'll never be displayed in galleries in my home country due to political messages in my works. Which made me decide to get rid of all ideas for new paintings which I kept as notes on my phone at once. I couldn't just ignore them because some of them were good but not quite good to dedicate a separate painting to each. So my upcoming painting would be my solo show in imaginary gallery made of glass with my unreleased paintings, resemling transparency in the art world.
