SPACE at the University of Portsmouth is proud to showcase a new touring contemporary art exhibition called ‘Liminal’ by successful international public and gallery artist Katayoun Pasban Dowlatshahi. The artworks are a fascinating selection of photographic art, drawing, architectural glass and ‘time based media’ that explore the intrinsic nature of light and shadow as a metaphor of the landscape and architecture of Iran where Katayoun was born.

Exhibition Dates: 15 February - 5 March 2010
Open weekdays 10am - 4pm. Admission free.

Preview: Friday 12 February 4pm - 7pm
Meet the artist. Free refreshments.

Public Talk: Wednesday 17 February, 2pm

http://www.port.ac.uk/departments/faculties/cci/space/title,105422,en.html

Katayoun trained in Edinburgh, Winchester and Barcelona and a number of works produced during her Doctorate of Philosophy, were an investigation into the intrinsic nature and application of light to produce experimental light drawings using a process called ‘Carbon Photography’; a 19th century pigment transfer technique onto glass and paper.

She is only one of a handful of people worldwide who employ this technique in their practice. “There is ephemeral beauty in the world we inhabit; a liminal state almost too subtle or faint to knowingly experience, and sometimes so overwhelming that we become immersed by the experience, unable to define it. By working with glass and sunlight I have tried to reveal the hidden ephemera.”

Newer works in the exhibition are produced from double exposures onto 6 x 6 roll film and have a more formal relationship with the landscape, although what they represent is an experiential and personal journey, they are by the nature of their production artificial landscapes, self reflexive and evocative.

In addition to her gallery work, Katayoun has a significant portfolio of clients and commissions in Public Art, working with leading developers, engineers and art consultants to produce significant architectural glass facades and ‘floorscapes’, such as those in Exeter and Leicester City Centres; currently she is working on projects in Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes, Canterbury City and Gloucester Docks. Katayoun is a Trustee of Art Space and Axis.