ArtDayMe: We delve into a captivating and visually striking painting by Figo Birjandian, created in 2019 using mixed media on canvas in the dimensions of 120 × 150 cm. The work is held in the Ali Soghrati Collection. 

With its explosive dynamism of forms and colors, this painting reflects a distinctive take on Abstract Expressionism, filtered through Figo’s unique visual language.

A bold interplay of vibrant hues set against a turquoise background draws the viewer into a charged yet liberating visual tension. 

The aesthetic impact of this work emerges from its internal visual logic and its emotional resonance, rather than from any attempt to mirror the outside world.

From a compositional perspective, the painting consists of two interwoven central masses. These are rendered with dense strokes of color and fluid gestures that create an atmosphere of intensity and excitement. The relative symmetry between the two central color clusters provides visual balance, yet the artist deliberately disrupts this equilibrium with rapid black lines and splattered blotches. This interplay between order and chaos is a defining element of the composition.

The color palette is vivid, expansive, and rich—juxtaposing cool tones (blues, purples, turquoise, greens) with warm ones (reds, oranges, yellows) to create an impassioned tension and rhythm. Black appears in assertive, calligraphic-like strokes, grounding the chromatic chaos in a visual structure. 

The turquoise background functions like a calm field absorbing the unleashed energy of the colors. White blotches at the center create breathing space—brief pauses amid the storm—inviting the viewer to linger.

The painting speaks of a painterly action rooted in spontaneity, where rapid, direct brushwork reveals the artist’s instinctive process. 

The dense textures and prominent lines indicate multiple layers, enhancing the visual depth and volumetric presence of the work.

This is a non-representational piece—there are no objects or human figures. Instead, the painting reveals the artist’s internal world and subconscious. Yet within this abstraction, certain themes emerge:

• Duality and Opposition: The two central masses may symbolize fundamental inner or existential opposites—feminine/masculine, dark/light, passion/reason.

• Creative Chaos: The restless lines and entangled colors evoke a sense of mental explosion or emotional catharsis.

• A Substitute Language: This painting may be an attempt to articulate a visual language beyond words, one that speaks directly to the viewer’s psyche and unconscious.

This work can be situated within the tradition of Abstract Expressionism, particularly its Action Painting subgenre, where the creative process itself holds as much importance as the final image.

 Yet, Figo Birjandian’s art diverges from Western paradigms through its metaphoric structure imbued with Eastern myth and culture.

The black gestures resemble calligraphy, possibly inspired by the traditions of Iranian-Islamic script. The work continues the artist’s known visual language—where free interaction with color and form translates intuition and emotion into strokes, stains, and spiritual abstraction.

Birjandian blends Western modern art with Eastern mystical aesthetics, achieving a unique form of Eastern Abstract Expressionism. Within the fabric of contemporary Iranian art, his work acts as a bridge between global modernism and indigenous roots. He draws on universal formal vocabularies but fuses them with the spiritual essence and cultural context of the region.

Encountering this piece is not an analytical experience—it is sensory. The eye plunges into the depths of color, traces the velocity of black lines, and occasionally catches its breath in the serene turquoise backdrop. The painting stirs passion, disorder, and reflection all at once.

Figo Birjandian’s painting is a pure outburst of emotion—raw, immediate, and intense. With great skill, he transforms color into a tool for meditation, rage, intuition, and play. 

This work is more than a painting—it is both a visual event and an inner experience, an invitation to perceive the world not through logic, but through feeling.

In February 2025, Figo Birjandian held his first solo exhibition at Ariana Gallery in Tehran, featuring selected works from three of his series. All of his pieces were sold during the show.

Born in 1989 in Tehran, Figo Birjandian is a self-taught painter who grew up in an art-loving family. After studying at the Canadian University of Dubai, he pursued painting professionally. His large-scale visual narratives have attracted the attention of several cultural institutions.

This remarkable work is part of the Ali Soghrati Collection: