WORKS
  • Ahoo Maher, Endless, 2020
    Ahoo Maher, Endless, 2020
    Sold
  • Ahoo Maher, Body and Privacy, 2019
    Ahoo Maher
    Body and Privacy, 2019
    Acrylic on canvas
    150 x 105 x 5 cm
    Ahoo Maher, Body and Privacy, 2019
    £ 3,200.00
  • Ahoo Maher, Unbreakable, 2016
    Ahoo Maher
    Unbreakable, 2016
    Mixed media on paper
    20 x 20 x 1 cm
    Ahoo Maher, Unbreakable, 2016
    £ 550.00
OVERVIEW
"The objective body is not the true version of the phenomenal body, that is, the true version of the body that we live; it is indeed no more than the latter's impoverished image."  Maurice Merleau-Ponty 
The "After" series are large-format oil and acrylic paintings in which I depict calm and peaceful moments of the people around me. The characters are my friends who love to party. But I only show them when they are quiet and empty the next day. They are no longer aggressive, loud, and energetic but instead have retreated to their homes in peace. When their souls have returned to their bodies, they will perceive themselves anew and return to everyday life.
I do not intend to criticize or confirm anything; I am just depicting people's lives from another angle so that others may look at them in the same way and perhaps relate or find recognizable elements. My intention is not take a moral stance, neither to make a statement; instead, I want to observe it and poneder without making any judgment, and to invite others to join me. I want to watch my surroundings from the outside and notice the concerns of my generation and their effects on me.
My starting point was the feeling of emptiness and meaninglessness that people sometimes experience when they return to their daily lives after a party. In my view, this is not necessarily positive or negative. I desire to have a neutral perspective, neither approving nor rejecting it: my standpoint is purely a moment of reflection. I want people to stop for a moment, pause, and look at the world from my point of view.
In the "After" paintings, I tell little stories. With limited colors and monotone background areas, I represent the moment of silence and offer the possibility for the figures to stand out.
The revolution in Iran in 1979 brought about a dramatic shift in the use of public and private space. Activities and social gatherings which were previously permitted in public space were no longer allowed. As a result, people have retreated into private space, and most relaxed gatherings and parties take place at home in order to bypass the imposed restrictions. Therefore, the mood and conditions at parties can be more personal than in a club in Europe for example. "After-hours" and post-party recovery also often happen on the same premises where the partying occurs. Whilst recovering you look around and observe the empty bottles, crisp packets, and other traces from the previous night. There is a striking contrast between before and after a party, i.e. a space that was occupied by moving figures becomes calm and quiet occupied by static sleeping human figures. 
BIO

Born in Tehran, Iran

Lives and works in Vienna, Austria

 

EDUCATION 

2017     Diploma in Contexual Painting, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna

2011     Musiktraining Cello Pedagogy, University of Music and Performing Art, Vienna 

2009     Cello, Prayner Konsevatory for Music and Performing Art, Vienna

2007     BA Music,Tehran Music School, Tehran

 

 SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2020     Die Schöne, Vienna, Austria
2018     Faces, Bordsteinschwalbe Gallery, Graz, Austria
2015     Diary, Dastan Basement Gallery, Tehran, Iran

              Auffalen, Public Domain, Porgy and Bess, Vienna, Austria

 

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2022    Show me three give me five, Salzamt, Linz

             Photons, Wuk, Vienna

             Female Art Auction, Artcare, Vienna 
2021     Kunst AMmStern Hendricks, Vienna

             Back hand, Soo Contemporary, Tehran

             Young Art Auction, Vienna

             Discomfort, Einflussraum, Vienna

2020     Young Art Auction, Artcare, Vienna

2019     Parallel Vienna Art Fair, Vienna

             Young Art Auction, Artcare, Vienna

              Holzhaus, Linz

             Vignale Festival, Vienna
2018     Alserkal Avenue Gallery, Dubai

             Paradise Garden, Philomenia Gallery, Vienna

             DanubiArt, Besucherzentrum Welterbe, Regensburg
2017     Final Exhibition, Xhibit Gemӓlde Gallery, Vienna

             Snack, Bibliothek Akademie der Bildende Kϋnste, Vienna

             Update, Datan Gallery, Tehran

2016     Rundgang Akademie Der Bildende Kϋnste, Vienna

              Art of Autism, Niavaran Cultural Centre, Tehran

             Geviert, Universitӓt Bibliothek der Akademie Der bildende Kϋnste, Vienna

              Frauen, Prosa, Vienna

              30x30, Exhibition of Iranian Contemporary Artist, Tehran

              Update, Dastan 2 Gallery, Tehran
2015      Aufgerissenen Auge, Transmanieristiche Reaktion, xhibit Gallery, Vienna

2014       Studio One, Vienna

               Somewhere, Prosa, Vienna

               Lageegal, Gallery A Collection, Vienna

               Limited Access, Vista Gallery, Tehran
2013       Miniature Museum, California Institute of Arts, Los Angles

 

PERFORMANCES

2022       Live Portrait, DH5, Linz

2020       Salon Else, Vienna

               Klangmanifest, Vienna
2019       Nixtasy, Fabrikanten, Linz

               Moire, DorfTV, Linz
2018       Maher-Ruf Duo, Zentrum Fϋr Musikvermitlung 14, Vienna

               Live Painting, Danubiart Festival, Regensburg

2017       mit kompanie vonnuna, Strenge Kammer, Porgy and Bess, Vienna

               Duett with Thomas Grimm, mo.ё, Vienna

               AIR2hEAR #7 with Enrique Mendoza, Amann Studio, Vienna

               Moire Performance in Kunst- und Kulturraum mo.ё, Vienna

2016       Musikalische Begleitung, “IF SHE CAN SEE IT; SHE CAN BE IT”

               Preisverleihung Drehbuchforum Österreich/Musik Performance, Bei Karl-Mayer, Veinna

               Thomas Pluch Drehbuchpreis Diagonale, Graz

               ToBe Continued festival, Live Streaming, Vienna

                Art FREMD-FREMD ART, St, Pölten

                JOHN BUTCHER Ensamble, Echoraum, Vienna

                Morgenland Festival, Osnabrϋck

2015        Beton Performance, Strenge Kammer Prorgy and Bess, Vienna

               “Su:r” mit Derang Duett, Echoraum, Vienna

               “DUO, TRIO”, FRIV Festival, Poznan

               Cello Flöte Duett, Das Zweitbeste, Vienna

               Beton, Österreichische Kulturforum, Bratislava

               Morgenland Festival, Osnabrϋck

2014       Klangfarbe und Die ewige Wiederkehr Art Unchored Festival, Vienna-Bratislava

               SOOR, Derang Duo Performance, Shirin Art Centre, Tehran

               Morgenland Festival, Osnabrϋck

2013       Aufruf″ mit Derang Duo Universitӓt fϋr music und darstellende kunst, Vienna

2012       Klangfarben, Klara Schuman saa, Möe, Vienna

               Selbstzensur, Post-Porn and BodyPolitik, VBKÖ, Vienna

               Morgenland Festival, Osnabrϋck
INTERVIEW
Tell us about yourself. What is your background and where did you grow up? How have your life experiences shaped your work?
I grew up in an artistic family in Tehran, Iran. From an early age, I came into contact with visual art and artists - both my parents are artists and as a child, I was always encouraged to follow the creation and implementation of their projects. I also started very early to create my own art. Despite this, at the age of nine, I decided to enter the world of music and spent most of my time practicing and playing cello. I eventually moved to Vienna at the age of seventeen to study music. This was the point when I realized what an important role visual art plays in my life and how much I missed it. The result was a return to visual art and specifically a return to painting. I now work as a freelance visual artist and curator in Vienna.
From an early age, I have been exposed to the aesthetics of Iranian contemporary art and miniature painting and these persistently continue to be an important influence on my artistic practice.
Why did you become an artist and what has been your journey up to this point?
Painting is the language that I can use to express myself and communicate with the world. Through the support of my family and the artistic environment they created for me, they provided me with the opoortunity to consciously choose my own artistic path. After years of experimenting and playing around with music, performance, and painting I realized that drawing and painting are my chosen mediums, and that through imagery I can best express myself.
I studied Contextual Painting at the academy of fine arts Vienna, where I was able to experiment with many different mediums and learn how to develop my concepts and bring them into implementation.
What is an average day in your studio like and what is your routine? What is your creative process?
For me I think there is almost no routine. Every day is unique and special. Most days I take notes regarding the topics that are currently my concern. One of the most time-consuming parts of the artistic process is to develop, modify and improve the concepts. Once I have decided upon a concept/subject, then the process of calculating and collecting material begins. I make sketches (partly on paper or digitally) which will eventually be developed into large format images.
Apart from my large-scale paintings I maintain a separate daily drawing diary made up of small-format drawings inspired by or depicting everyday situations.
Therefore, a day in the studio varies depending on which stage I am in the creative process.
How do you choose a medium for your work? Do you prepare and plan or do you improvise and experiment?
Sometimes I am aware from the beginning that the image should be realized with a certain medium, but sometimes it evolves or changes during the creation process itself. But generally, I do a lot of planning and make sketches before I implement the final version.
Are your works conveying a message? Is there a narrative or a story to your work?
Yes, almost all my pictures have a story – my story! My work reflects the things that are important to me and my world views. Some works are clearly critical while others are merely “neutral” depictions which invite the viewer to come to their own conclusions.  
Who and what are some of your greatest influences in both your life and as an artist?
Traveling and observing people are the greatest influences on my artistic process. I learnt this from my father, how he looks at the world and how he reflects it in his art. I try to be a spectator of situations and record moments with my memory and photography. Combining the memories, photos, and sketches together to create a unique individual moment.
There are also many figurative painters who have influenced my paintings like Lucian Freud, David Hockney, and many others.
Do you consider your work of art creation or a discovery?
A very difficult question because the creative process is also a process of discovery. But in this case, I would say I discover special moments and with them I create images.
 
EXHIBITIONS
Enquire

Send me more information on Ahoo Maher

Please fill in the fields marked with an asterisk
Receive newsletters *
Terms and conditions

* denotes required fields

In order to respond to your enquiry, we will process the personal data you have supplied to communicate with you in accordance with our Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.