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Shaan Syed: Crowds & Constellations

September 16, 2006 - November 12, 2006

AWE Gallery

In his first major solo exhibition, Shaan Syed presents a collection of paintings that contrast chaotic scenes of human congregation with quiet, noctural views of nature. Searches for patters where there appear to be none, he traces the movement of people as they cross from disasters and cityscapes to lush groves and eerily lit forests. The journey encompasses five formative years of his practice (2001-05), and demonstrates the development of a young painter honing his skills.

Syed elevates his perspective to a more expansive viewpoint, mapping the movements of people through a number of dramatic events. From boxing rings and basketball courts to concerts and jailbreaks, he employs a quasi-scientific view to analyze human movement as a scientist would observe atoms and cells. Syed also began to paint hallucinatory landscape scenes with traces of human presence. The paintings in this exhibition illustrate this voyage, using composition to uncover the underlying patterns of group behavior.

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