Altoon Sultan "Drawings and a Painting" at Feuilleton, Los Angeles, California (Review)

Altoon Sultan

"Drawings and a Painting"

10/10/20 – 11/7/20

Throughout the development of Modernist and Avant Garde art during the 20th and into the 21st Centuries, the pursuit of new perspectives has been always been a goal. One of the approaches is the close up where the viewer is given a detailed close up look and thereby forcing the viewer to see something that would be unusual or neglected. From the Russian Constructivist to the Bauhaus, artists from those eras were interested in the close up to explore political and social issues. The detail would be revelatory.


In Altoon Sultan's (born 1948) new work, currently on view at Feuilleton until November 7th, the detail is meant to reveal. Five works on gouache and one painting, Sultan invites the viewer to look at the machinery and mechanics of agriculture and food production. Upon first glance with the curves, shapes, and structures, the works see seem architectural in nature. However, Sultan hides the truth of what is being portrayed. The works show details of agricultural equipment and food processing machinery. The works are beautiful in their simplicity and color. Sultan uses detail and photo-realism to explore the complexities and ultimately the politics of food and agriculture as reflected by the details of the machinery. Once a student of Philip Pearlstein and Lois Dodd, Sultan's new work at Feuilleton reflects an interest in the perception of reality rather than reality itself. 

Sultan's intimate works as a reflection of what is perceived can be both a blessing and a curse. If one is not too privy to what is being looked at, the viewer may be given a false impression or led somewhere that's not being portrayed. However, once you know or have an idea of what is being seen, then the works are a blessing to look at. Sultan is a master at rendering and exploring ideas through the concept of things, especially their details. She leads the viewer into considering both the language of the mechanized and its intersection with agriculture.  This show is highly recommended to go see. Feuilleton is a gallery located within a private residence. It is open by appointment only. Go see.

feuilleton.la@gmail.com

1440 Logan St, Apt 1, 

Los Angeles, CA 90026 USA

 

Circles, 2019. Gouache and ink on hand toned paper, 12 1/2 x 12 in (31.75 x

30.5 cm)

Curves, 2018. Gouache and ink on hand toned paper, 12 1/2 x 12 1/2 in

(31.75 x 31.75 cm)

Two Circles, 2019. Egg tempera on calfskin parchment stretched on panel, 10 1/2 x 7 7/8 in (26.67 x 20.2 cm)

Green Cylinders, 2019. Gouache and ink on hand toned paper, 12 x 14 in (30. 48 x 35.56 cm)

Two Curves, 2020. Gouache and ink on hand toned paper, 13 x 12 in (33.02 x 30.48 cm)

Installation View

Installation View