“Abstraction allows man to see with his mind what he cannot see physically with his eyes… Abstract art enables the artist to perceive beyond the tangible, to extract the infinite out of the finite. It is the emancipation of the mind. It is an exploration into unknown areas.” ― Arshile Gorky
Corridor Contemporary Art Gallery is proud to present a solo show of the Artist, Taher Jaoui. This Solo Exhibition will take place simultaneously in the two galleries of Corridor Contemporary: Tel-Aviv and Philadelphia.
Jaoui is a French, Tunisian artist who lives and works in Madrid, Spain. From a rich, stable, and secure inner world, the course of his life has led him to change the course of his career several times. His life path has also shed his defenses and fears and allowed him to enter new and exciting worlds of doing.
After years of computer and engineering studies, Jaoui felt that his spirit was craving more, so he turned to acting. Although acting allowed him to express himself emotionally to some extent, he felt that he had not exhausted all of his potential, and thus, turned to art. From there, the path to expressive abstract painting was obvious.
The new and liberated Jaoui transports the viewer into the jungle of his soul and communicates his vision through an interactive experience while watching the work, which is open to interpretation by the viewer. Even today, Jaoui’s artistic practice is evolving and frequently changing as he explores new worlds such as sculpture and technology, which incorporate his pictorial language and invite you, the viewers, into his rich emotional world. Welcome to the Jungle!
Creating captivating and labor-intensive work with an idea of continuing the legacy of the abstract expressionism movement from the 50s and 60s, and without any formal art education, his artistic practice is influenced by African primitive art, graffiti, glitch art, COBRA movement as well as the philosophy and attitude of post-war abstract expressionism. Varying from simple forms and patterns over-familiar shapes that are reminiscent of abstracted skulls, all the way to chalkboard-like scribble sections, the canvas surface becomes the workspace through which the artist exercises his ways of expression. Taher Jaoui’s paintings are rich assemblages of layered forms, vibrant colors, expressive gestures, and mathematical signs and formulas. Jaoui uses the canvas as a personal way of expressing himself. He does this by forming a dynamic interaction, a back and forth dialogue in which perspective and orientation continuously change until all elements are balanced.
Being the creative person he is, Jaoui pushes the boundaries of life, both geographically by transitioning from state to state and creatively through his art. He enters his mental jungle and embarks on an ongoing quest to discover its hidden parts.
Throughout his career, Jaoui has developed a distinct personal language comprised of a variety of individual elements that are disassembled and reassembled in his various paintings. Many of its elements are drawn from the artist’s computer and engineering studies, which come to life in the form of abstract mathematical signs and formulas. These elements frequently combined in his fascinating compositions, something that brings new life and forms to his distinctly pure “Taharian” language.
Together with the spatial vision of the surface, these elements create and emphasize his painting’s strong connection with the early concepts of abstract expressionism, which drew ideas from quantum mechanics in their theorization.
While balancing out his thoughts and feelings while painting, Jaoui’s works carry a sense of rebellious, anarchic, highly idiosyncratic and, some might say nihilistic feel to it, yet still constructing an endless base for viewer-dependent interpretation and experience.
In his works, Jaoui attaches great importance to the way the canvas responds to the layers of paint and gestures applied to it, as it is also a source of inspiration for him. The artist likes to compare his technique to a dance routine with a familiar partner. While impulsive and unconstrained in its core, familiarity with materials is essential for the creative process that strongly depends on the ability to respond quickly and foresee the way the elements will work together. By layering pastels, oils, and acrylics, the artist accents the richness of his work by constructing a raw texture that directly captures the physical energy embedded in each piece. Serving as a channel to convey his thoughts, emotions, and visions, the artistic practice is Jaoui’s source of confidence and peace, while the finished work becomes a documentation of the process of achieving those feelings.
Jaoui has long been known for his expressionist paintings full of wild compositions. Ever since the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, Jaoui was able to think of new ways to express himself. For instance, the gap between society and people caused by the isolation made Jaoui eager to incorporate human figures in his works. By doing so, Jaoui’s desire for human connections and interactions can be viewed in his paintings. In his latest series, he utilizes a new form in his artistic language, which produces figurative paintings. However, this new exploration does not abandon his original artistic language of abstract forms and mathematical symbols. Jaoui’s characters can be interpreted as a rephrasing of his abstract language. Paintings from his new series will be showcased at Corridor Contemporary during his solo exhibition.
