O Gallery presents “Peeping,” a new collection of paintings by Alishia Morassaei (b. 1980 Tehran).

The desire to peek, in contrast to the fear of being seen in one’s private space is the driving force behind the creation of these works.  What’s behind closed doors or in some instances in shopping bags, within egg shells and so forth – in hiding and in private – versus what’s out there in public and the aspiration to keep things secret are the concepts that Morassaei is trying to playfully address in this collection.     

As though playing a game, or perhaps putting the pieces of a puzzle together, she chooses different format frames, different colors, different sizes and in fact plays with the sizes of the subjects she portrays to further draw in the viewer: to have him/her peek in as the artist has done so herself to capture those images. What completes the artist’s work is the way she presents them and eventually decides to install them in a show together, as they tell a story that is said and resaid as individual and unique pieces.