Trained as both an artist and an interior designer, Roya Gharavi has an eye for color and scale.
She is influenced by Minimalism – Robert Motherwell in particular – and the blurred line between abstraction and realism explored by Gerhard Richter.
"There are so many layers to his painting," said Gharavi of Richter's works. "It's never just a flat canvas, and there's also the squeegee effect."
Gharavi's own brushstrokes, whether she is painting in oil or acrylic, overlap swiftly as if crossing a viscous medium and creating spatial depth in the z-direction.
"The scale in Richter's pieces is also amazing," continued Gharavi. "Even if they get larger, his pieces don't lose their integrity."
Gharavi's own pieces are no larger than 30x72 inches. Practically minded, she hints that they are large enough to fit in the car.
Born in London and of partial Iranian descent, Gharavi drew plenty as a child and mused over becoming a fashion designer.
She moved to Maryland in 1998 and attended the University of Maryland, College Park where she studied Fine Arts. She took classes in various media but ultimately decided to focus on painting.
"Painting is an impulsive activity. The less I think about it, the better job I do. I think it comes down to life experience. There isn't always an answer to everything. It's just inside. There is no surveillance going on in art, and it's something no one can take away from you," she said.
Following college, she moved to Italy where she taught English for two years before going back to school at the KLC School of Interior Design in London.
"Living abroad and seeing how people live in other countries has been a great influence on my work," she said.
She counts Rome, Istanbul, Tehran and Tokyo among her favorite places.
"Graphic design and everyday design in Tokyo were amazing. It's a really cool city. Hopefully Argentina will be next," she said.
There are no recognizable urban artifacts or icons in Gharavi's work, however. She captures an emotion or mental state through brushwork.
"I try to portray energy," she said.
She finds that working in interior design exposes her to an entire industry that appreciates art and that the two fields are closely intertwined.
When working on commission, like she has for a public space in the Kettler-developed Allegro Apartments in Columbia Heights, she looks closely at the space in question before sending in sketches and giving an idea of the direction of her work.
"Clients usually know my style, and I stick to it," said Gharavi who sells most of her work through her website. Most of it goes to private collectors in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.
Her upcoming exhibit at the Arts Barn in Gaithersburg will be on view during December 2011 and January 2012 and will feature work she has completed from 2009 on.
"My style changed a lot when I moved back to this country, so I've put a collection together," said the artist who exhibits selectively because her full-time occupation as an interior designer at Forrest Perkins Hospitality Design consumes most of her time.
Of all the pieces in the exhibit, "Mellow" is the most significant for Gharavi.
"It represents all my styles coming together on one canvas. It takes the past into consideration, as well as what the future could evolve into stylistically," she said.
She describes her current style as being a bit louder and making more of a statement than in the past when she was holding back.
"I've been letting go a bit, and painting what it actually feels like to make a painting," she said.
She prefers a minimal color palette featuring strong black and white contrasts.
"It's elegant, timeless, powerful," she said of the combination.
Gharavi has shown her work at the Bricklane Gallery in London and the Diece Gallery in Baltimore among others.
To visit the artist's website, click here.
