The Artist ZARUM, whose masterpiece titled DUBAI BEAUTY, a painting which garnered international praise and was offered as a gift to the people of Dubai through contact with the office of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has undertaken a new series of works destined for the collections of the astute and select art collectors.
One could say ZARUM has struck a gold vein of creative energy ever since returning to start his new series of works in his home town of Toronto after many years of collecting influences and leaving his hallmark on the European art-scene. He has put forth painting after painting and nothing seems to be able to stop him in his zeal. And why try? His works are richer and more multifarious then ever. The years of living in Spain and Holland have made their imprint on ZARUMs conscience and soul from which he now derives inspiration and ingredients for a whole range of new ideas that are waiting to find expression in color.
Each of the paintings he has put forth since arriving in Toronto is a paragon of genuine individual character. In “4 Nudesâ€, ZARUMs first score back in Canada, his artistic drive comes charging out like lava from a volcano and lays itself on the canvas leaving an image of fieriness and movement, like tribal women in a frantic dance on a heated summer night close to ecstasy. In “Mediterranean Madness†he processes the general feel of life in the Mediterranean area, portraying the mixture of tropical romanticism and passion with laziness and traditional conservatism, where heat and cold constantly swap, where turmoil and tranquility go hand in hand. Very structured with soft colors he enters the world of mystics and legends with “The Sirenâ€, a painting flowing in the realm of fantasy. Very real and meaningful, on the other hand, is “Secret Passionâ€, where ZARUM focuses on a single specific proposition, creating transparency in the painting to emphasize its meaning and finally he creates a masterpiece of composition and visual harmony in “The Flirtâ€.
At the same time ZARUM stays faithful to himself. He has long surpassed the phase of working on establishing his own unique signifying calligraphy, which gives each individual renowned painters work a visual familiarity. ZARUM has entered that league of artists whose works can be identified at first sight and whose paintings continue to rise in value because he has taken irrevocable control of the medium, being a combination of mind, material and motion. This became first visible in his famous ‘Faces’ series, a body of over thirty works produced in, until then, unprecedented and to this day unmatched style and technique.
In his burst of artistic creativity ZARUM has now engaged in composing a new series that promises to be no less special and exciting. A first appetizer can already be enjoyed on his comprehensive and informative web-site, together with his other works, previously mentioned here: www.zarum.net.
Limiting the use of color to black, white and red, ZARUM has once more set a challenge for himself; namely that of creating magic with lines and shapes. He has done it before and will do it again. More refined and sophisticated, he will enrapture us with his typical wide swung lines, gently and elegantly dividing sharp contrasts, forming separate spheres that evolve into lips and other facial features.
Luscious, intensely colored lips have often dominated ZARUMs paintings and turned them into sensuous displays of passion: “Instruments of lust, pleasure, affection, love and intimacyâ€, as described by the artist himself. Being that, he makes them the theme of the current series that is about to unfold. The initial piece is thus simply called “Lipsâ€. Two pairs of lips, immense in size, shaped like flower leafs – one of natures artworks – or painted hearts, meet to kiss and all the rest is left to the observers’ associations. ZARUM has perfected the lips in his paintings and gives them a life of their own in order to send them flying like dreams on a journey through imagination. In their simplicity ZARUMs lips radiate a genuine desire and longing, ever present inside each and every one of us like simmering embers. With the gentle breath of his talent and inspiration ZARUM will ignite them in each single painting and show to us another aspect of that often hidden, but burning fire.
At the outset the paintings may appear to bare resemblance to Pop-Art style works, however this impression is merely a passing visual effect; its quality and spirit are far deeper, more sensitive and tender. Pop-Art by definition dealt with the commercialization and consumerism of the modern world and its artists intentionally choose poster-like colors and cartoon-like designs to imply artificiality and devaluation of humaneness, whereas ZARUMs love for vivid colors is most likely rooted in the part of his genes that traces back to Spain and a desire to inspire the senses and stir emotion. His art deals with human passions and desires in an optimistic and uplifting manner and the lips sequence is no exception. In addition, those who have followed ZARUMs art know that his power lies in focusing on a sole central idea and drawing maximum attention to what expresses it best.
In the case of the ‘Lips’ series this results in works with almost digital design character. The ease with which ZARUM swings clear and accurate lines may remind us of this type of art, which is in its essence based on pure logic and mathematic programming. The art of ZARUM on the other hand is better compared with the nature in which a dancer turns rhythm and melody into movement, in which a musician lets himself be driven by instinct in a jam session to conjure new sounds. With the same indigenous gift and perfected talent ZARUM sways his lines like those left by a skater on ice.
In this contraposition of cold logic and heated fervor we find ZARUMs main message. On the background of a black and white, rationally calculable world, he places the soft but powerful symbol of emotion and sensuality in the form of red lush lips. The lips in their overwhelming size and impact tell us the importance of being aware of our desires and following our passions with pride, because life is simply colorless without them and they truly are larger then life.
Similar to the ‘Faces’ series, each painting in this project will tell its own tale, stand as a whole and complete work of art and also have its unique place among the series as a collection. In this case, however, it seems the sequence itself, when unified and seen as a whole will have its own value and sovereign presence. A different and powerful piece of art may present itself out of the combination of many single pieces.
For ZARUM it promises to be a warm winter, considering the goals and amount of work he has ambitiously set for himself. As for us as art-lovers we are smacking our lips in anticipation for the magic that is about to emerge.
