Untitled Mixed Media On Canvas

Postwar & contemporary mixed media on canvas painting from the "The Smell of Joke" series

Artwork Description

about this mixed media on canvas painting

This painting belongs to The Smell of Joke, a series created by Omid Masoumi in 2009. Using acrylic, ink, and collage, the work blends absurdity with emotion in a vivid, layered surface. Sharp shapes and cartoon-like figures are arranged with surreal logic and graphic precision.

The imagery balances playfulness and unease, inviting viewers to reflect on discomfort beneath the humor. Colors shift between cheerful primaries and shadowy tones, emphasizing duality in mood and meaning. Masoumi uses distortion, repetition, and exaggeration to mirror societal contradictions and personal inner noise.

The title suggests a sensory paradox, a joke you can almost smell, yet cannot explain. This painting explores how humor conceals, distorts, or reveals emotional and cultural tensions. It feels theatrical, like a staged performance of truth hiding behind masks. The work stands as a bold, ironic commentary on human interaction, perception, and lived experience.

View his Dubai collection of available paintings here

about the artist

Omid Masoumi was born in 1984 in Tehran, Iran. He studied Graphic Design at Sooreh University in Tehran. His art mainly uses mixed media including acrylics, ink, collage, and cardboard. Masoumi’s style blends abstract and surreal elements to explore themes like identity and memory.

He has held several solo exhibitions. In 2024, he presented The Scent of the Game of Life at Etemad Gallery. This show explored life’s complexities through vivid, symbolic imagery. In 2021, he exhibited Scent of a Simple Triangle at Choom Gallery. This series used abstract triangles to reflect personal growth and the environment. Other solo shows include There There (2017), Gravity (2014), and Clash (2013).

Masoumi has also participated in many group exhibitions. In 2019, he showed at Azad Art Gallery and Farmanfarma Gallery. In 2018, he was part of Badha at Delgosha Gallery and several other Tehran gallery events. Internationally, he exhibited in London at The Brick Lane Gallery (2008) and Art London (2007).

copyright

This painting is one of a kind original therefore, all copyrights and reproduction rights are reserved by the artist.