"Mark Shetabi’s work at Jeff Bailey Gallery was Mark Shetabi’s work, mostly paintings of grisaille empty, oppressive spaces filled with longing–longing for contact, for understanding, for a place on this planet to call one’s own (Roberta’s post here). I especially enjoyed Sculpture, a painting of a gas station, one of Shetabi’s repeating subjects–the other gas station in this exhibit is the actual sculpture itself–The Rapture.
Of course a gas station is a fine symbol of our relationship with Iran and the entire Middle East. It’s not a place for comfort, but it’s an icon for materialism and power. That such a homely place, a sort of hell on earth, can be the sought-after Holy Grail is astonishing.
In the Rapture, Shetabi also adds bunker-like toilets and office behind the fueling area, and beneath, another bunker behind a peephole. This bunker has bottles of water as well as a bed. There’s liquid gold and liquid gold. There’s real survival and economic survival." source link is here.
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