Haleh Mashian
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.
Art critic, Peter Frank, speaks of this series with awe:
“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
