Riaz Sanatian

I was born in Iran in 1958. I left my country of birth at the age of sixteen and have lived in the UK since then. I studied Mechanical Engineering and researched in the field of computational fluid dynamics for a number of years before working in the industry for over twenty five years. In 2014 I decided it was time to pursue other interests and started my artistic journey. I now work as an artist in London and Cuenca (Spain). My work is influenced by both Eastern and Western art and culture.

I work in both 2-D and 3-D. My 2-D works are mainly abstract compositions using ink and paper. They tend to take place within a clearly delimited rectangle, the edges being an important element of the image. The marks may be geometric, calligraphy-inspired or purely abstract. Through them one catches glimpses of layers or dimensions created by the intertwining and movement of solid and translucent ink marks, suggesting realities beyond what is visible to the naked eye, a hint at other planes of existence. Themes and ideas usually evolve from one work to the next. My 3-D compositions are semi-figurative. They are inspired and created from found and weathered objects that tell the story of their own existence through the marks that the passing of time and the elements have engraved on them. To these organic marks I sometimes superimpose calligraphic and ink strokes; with deterioration and the rusted layers produced by time, the objects take on new forms and adopt suggestive shapes, inviting us to reflect our own reality on to them.

My compositions are manifestations of thoughts and feelings about the complex and multidimensional nature of human reality, the interaction between the tangible and the intangible, the coexistence of the material and the spiritual, knowledge and intuition, the heart and the mind… a glimpse of what may lie beyond.