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Y.Z. Kami

January 8–February 9, 2008
Beverly Hills

Y.Z. KAMI Installation view, photo by Douglas M. Parker Studio

Y.Z. KAMI

Installation view, photo by Douglas M. Parker Studio

Y.Z. KAMI Installation view, photo by Douglas M. Parker Studio

Y.Z. KAMI

Installation view, photo by Douglas M. Parker Studio

Y.Z. KAMI Installation view, photo by Douglas M. Parker Studio

Y.Z. KAMI

Installation view, photo by Douglas M. Parker Studio

Works Exhibited

Y. Z. Kami, Untitled, 2006 Oil on canvas, 132 × 74 inches (335.3 × 188 cm)

Y. Z. Kami, Untitled, 2006

Oil on canvas, 132 × 74 inches (335.3 × 188 cm)

Y. Z. Kami, Rumi-The Book of Massnavi E Manavi III, 2007 Mixed media on linen, 90 × 99 inches (228.6 × 251.5 cm)

Y. Z. Kami, Rumi-The Book of Massnavi E Manavi III, 2007

Mixed media on linen, 90 × 99 inches (228.6 × 251.5 cm)

Y. Z. Kami, Endless Prayers III, 2007 Mixed media on paper, 42 × 29 ¾ inches (106.7 × 75.6 cm)

Y. Z. Kami, Endless Prayers III, 2007

Mixed media on paper, 42 × 29 ¾ inches (106.7 × 75.6 cm)

Y. Z. Kami, Endless Prayers II, 2007 Mixed media on paper, 42 × 29 ¾ inches (106.7 × 75.6 cm)

Y. Z. Kami, Endless Prayers II, 2007

Mixed media on paper, 42 × 29 ¾ inches (106.7 × 75.6 cm)

Y. Z. Kami, Endless Prayers XVI, 2007 Mixed media on paper, 42 × 29 ¾ inches (106.7 × 75.6 cm)

Y. Z. Kami, Endless Prayers XVI, 2007

Mixed media on paper, 42 × 29 ¾ inches (106.7 × 75.6 cm)

Y. Z. Kami, Untitled (Marina I), 2007 Oil on canvas, 98 × 64 inches (248.9 × 162.6 cm)

Y. Z. Kami, Untitled (Marina I), 2007

Oil on canvas, 98 × 64 inches (248.9 × 162.6 cm)

Y. Z. Kami, Untitled (Acharya), 2007 Oil on linen, 140 × 70 inches (355.6 × 177.8 cm)

Y. Z. Kami, Untitled (Acharya), 2007

Oil on linen, 140 × 70 inches (355.6 × 177.8 cm)

About

The soul is not obscured by forms.
Even if it were wrapped in a hundred folds of felt
the rays of the soul’s light
would still shine through.
— Rumi

Gagosian is pleased to announce an exhibition of paintings and works on paper by Iranian born artist Y.Z. Kami. This will be his first exhibition in Los Angeles with Gagosian Gallery.

The flux between matter and spirit, life and mortality, the outer layer and the inner soul lies at the core of Kami’s oeuvre. Kami binds his study of Sufi poetry and philosophy to the traditions of figure painting, portraiture and collage. His works reflect a diverse range of interests, from portraiture to architectural domes, from photography to sacred and literary texts.

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Y.Z. Kami, Night Painting I (for William Blake), 2017–18, oil on linen, 99 × 99 inches (251.5 × 251.5 cm) © Y.Z. Kami. Photo: Rob McKeever

In Conversation
Setsuko and Y.Z. Kami

The artists address their shared ardor for poetry, the surfaces of painting, and nature.

Y.Z. Kami and Steven Henry Madoff sit in front two of the artist's paintings

In Conversation
Y.Z. Kami and Steven Henry Madoff

Y.Z. Kami and curator Steven Henry Madoff sit down in Kami’s studio to discuss the artist’s exhibition at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, Spain. Entitled Y.Z. Kami: De forma silenciosa/In a Silent Way, the survey features portraits; images of buildings, both sacred and ordinary; a sculptural installation of loose bricks inscribed with texts; and recent dreamlike abstractions.

A painting in dark blue and white. The image depicts a group of men in white linen encircling a platform on which a couple of them are standing. The standing figures are cut off from the waist up as the top half of the painting dissolves into solid midnight blue.

Y.Z. Kami: Dematerialized

In celebration of the release of the monograph Y.Z. Kami: Works 1985–2018, and in advance of an exhibition of new works by the artist at Gagosian, Rome, Ziba Ardalan and Elena Geuna sat down to discuss Y.Z. Kami’s work. The conversation was moderated by Gagosian’s Kay Pallister.

Rachel Whiteread, Untitled (Notre-Dame), 2019.

For Notre-Dame

An exhibition at Gagosian, Paris, is raising funds to aid in the reconstruction of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris following the devastating fire of April 2019. Gagosian directors Serena Cattaneo Adorno and Jean-Olivier Després spoke to Jennifer Knox White about the generous response of artists and others, and what the restoration of this iconic structure means across the world.

Y.Z. Kami, Gold Dome, 2017, gold leaf on linen, 63 × 70 inches (160 × 177.8 cm). Mr. and Mrs. David Su Collection.

Y.Z. Kami: Luminosities

Elena Geuna interviews the artist on the subjects of his childhood, his approach to portraiture, and the centrality of light in his practice.

Gagosian Quarterly Summer 2019

Now available
Gagosian Quarterly Summer 2019

The Summer 2019 issue of Gagosian Quarterly is now available, featuring a detail from Afrylic by Ellen Gallagher on its cover.