Haleh Mashian
upcoming solo exhibition: "Grove of Enchantment"
MASH Gallery is pleased to present “Grove of Enchantment,” a solo exhibition by artist Haleh Mashian, an expressionist painter and founder of Mash gallery in West Hollywood. Grove of Enchantment is a fantasy inspired and imaginative take on the re-interpretation of Mashian’s Tree series. Mashian invites viewers to explore the forest of their dreams, while celebrating nature’s wisdom, strength and enduring beauty.
Mashian’s sculptural relief portrays colorful forests that are fully articulated and layered creating a visual phenomena that alternately appear in sharp relief or recede into the depth of landscape. She experimented with novel painting techniques and emphasized color, process, and materiality epitomizing the process of pure form emerging from raw material coalescing the ancient and modern in this series.
Drawing inspiration from the legendary artists Wolf Kahn and Anselm Kiefer, Mashian incorporates a stunning array of colors—muted and vibrant—each piece a unique creation yet harmoniously linked within the others from the collection. From deep alizarian red and burnt umber to shimmering hues of silver, gold blues and creamy whites, her work reflects the ever-changing beauty of nature and the human experience.
Where the natural transcended world and artistic expression intertwine, this exhibition champions the beauty of our environment and emphasizes the importance of loving and prioritizing the land we live on. In this immersive series, Mashian highlights the spiritual and emotional impact trees have on our lives, underscoring their role in mental health, and in soothing the human spirit.
“I sense the palpable exchange of energy, a silent connection that transcends words with each stroke of my paintbrush and application of mixed media. A deep knowing that I can emulate the qualities of these magnificent beings into my own Psyche.”
“As a painter devoted to capturing the essence of trees, I find myself endlessly inspired by their graceful presence, the interplay of light and shadow, the texture of their bark and their vibrant hues of foliage.” “I seek to capture the resilience and strength that emanate from their silent presence, the whispers of their ancient secrets, reminding viewers of the inherent power within us all.”
Through this exhibition, Mashian aims to portray the beauty and importance of trees in our ecosystem, highlighting their role in combating climate change and preserving the ozone layer. Additionally, she is dedicated to making a positive impact beyond the canvas. Part of proceeds from the sales of her art are directed towards an environmental charity, ensuring that her work contributes directly to initiatives that address and mitigate these pressing environmental challenges.
So come, wander through the canvas of her imagination, where the spirit of trees dances in vibrant strokes and whispers of tranquility. Let us celebrate the beauty of nature together, and may her paintings serve as a reminder of the profound connection we share with the world around us.
tree Series
The Tree Series presents an intricate study of positive and negative space and the mystery of multitudes in minimalism. These canvases, often large-scale, have the effect of walking into a multicolored forest.
“Haleh Mashian does not paint trees. She does not paint forests. She paints the condition that persists between trees and forests and those of us who enter those forests and approach those trees as manifestations of energy and mood. These are paintings of presences and at the same time of emotional and mental weather. These are not evocations of places so much as evocations of feelings.” (Peter Frank, Art Critic)
Water Series
The Water Series explores the themes of water — its torrents and stillness, its ebbs and flows, its shimmer and depth, its roughness and ripples. Through the use of a myriad of materials and textures, the paintings portray water as a cleansing, an immersive substance that both washes away our detritus and calms our senses with its rejuvenating and constant momentum. In this way, water is both substance and solution—carries and cleanses the body and soul.
Figurative Series
Mashian’s Abstract Figurative Series is her most personal and is an homage to the dichotomies of what it means to be feminine: soft and bold, fluid and stalwart, vulnerable and invincible. Mashian’s approach to the feminine form evolves from a symbolist collage to a modern interpretation of the feminine figure. Mashian’s work with live models ignited the Femme series, addressing the universal themes of feminine fortitude and fierceness, and at the same time is the latest configuration celebrating the female form—a subject of myriad artworks since the age of antiquity.
Rose Series
In the Rose Series, Mashian captures the quintessential and singular beauty of the rose. Evocative and startling, rather than delicate, the large-scale, mixed media paintings on wood panel highlight the intricacies of single blooms with several works employing the vivid hues of the rose as a theme.
Biography
For over 20+ years, Haleh Mashian’s art has colorfully illustrated her unique, astute view of the world, both real and imagined. As a painter and creative expressionist, Mashian’s abstract works reveal her appreciation of color theory, compositional form, and the study of positive and negative space. Working in mixed media and using a variety of techniques from collage to impasto, a repeated layering and application of paint, Mashian’s dynamic pieces range from smaller artworks that can be arranged together to large-scale paintings. Her large-paneled paintings have been exhibited nationally in Los Angeles, Miami, and other art enclaves and are included in private collections in the United States and abroad.
Her creativity extends into other forms as well. Haleh has included fashion design, digital art, and music into her repertoire of boundless expression. She is the Founder and Lead Designer for MASH City, her innovative men’s and womenswear collection. Originally from Iran, she is a longtime resident of Southern California with a Studio in Santa Monica where she lives with her husband and two children.
“Haleh Mashian does not paint trees. She does not paint forests. She paints the condition that persists between trees and forests and those of us who enter those forests and approach those trees as manifestations of energy and mood. These are paintings of presences and at the same time of emotional and mental weather. These are not evocations of places so much as evocations of feelings.”
– Peter Frank, Art Critic
