Kour Pour b. 1987, UK
British-Iranian artist Kour Pour has quickly developed a reputation for meticulously composed and delicately rendered artworks that intersect diverse material and aesthetic traditions, allowing for a remapping of the standard understanding of “Eastern/Western” cultural exchange. Appropriating forms and techniques from numerous cultures and time periods, Pour’s truly global vision weaves together representational imagery, abstract patterning, and ornamental elements to create new hybrid artworks—equally ancient, classical, and contemporary—a constellation of influences from Iran, Britain, Egypt, India, and China, among others.
In his recent series TBT, Pour draws influence from Chinese, Japanese, and Korean ink painting traditions, contemplating the tiger as an ambiguous actor—both distinctive and camouflaged, beautiful and dangerous, but sometimes depicted as cute, funny, or even not of this world. The ambiguity of the tiger, reinforced through Pour's multiple techniques, enables it to transcend the specificity of any one image, and to become an enigmatic entity with indeterminate grounding. Pour says, “There is... an element of surrealism in these works, a floating feeling, an in-between space. The tigers seem to be leaving their environments in the background to step forward and emerge into new territory.”
-
Kour PourWhite Tiger of the West, 2020Block printed on canvas with acrylic and oil94 x 73 x 2 in
238.8 x 185.4 x 5.1 cm -
Kour PourTBT, 2020Block printing ink, and oil on canvas43 x 36 x 1 1/2 in
109.2 x 91.4 x 3.8 cm -
Kour PourBig Brother, 2021Block printing ink on paper100 x 59 x 2 in
254 x 149.9 x 5.1 cm -
Kour PourLittle Brother, 2021Block printing ink on paper100 x 59 x 2 in
254 x 149.9 x 5.1 cm -
Kour PourWatching Over You, 2021Block printed on canvas using acrylic and oil43 x 38 x 1 1/2 in
109.2 x 96.5 x 3.8 cm -
Kour PourBrothers and Sisters, 2021Block printed on canvas using acrylic and oil43 x 30 x 1 1/2 in
109.2 x 76.2 x 3.8 cm -
Kour PourChina, Japan or Korea?, 2021Block printed on canvas using acrylic and oil43 x 38 x 1 1/2 in
109.2 x 96.5 x 3.8 cm -
Kour PourDong Saeng, 2021Block printed on canvas using acrylic and oil43 x 28 x 1 1/2 in
109.2 x 71.1 x 3.8 cm -
Kour PourHyeong, 2020Block printed on canvas using acrylic and oil43 x 30 x 1 1/2 in
109.2 x 76.2 x 3.8 cm -
Kour PourKkachi Horangi (Magpie and Tiger), 2021Block printed on canvas using acrylic and oil43 x 34 x 1 1/2 in
109.2 x 86.4 x 3.8 cm -
Kour PourLonesome Tiger, 2021Block printed on canvas using acrylic and oil43 x 30 x 1 1/2 in
109.2 x 76.2 x 3.8 cm -
Kour PourMama with Her Cubs, 2020Block printed on canvas using acrylic and oil43 x 33 x 1 1/2 in
109.2 x 83.8 x 3.8 cm -
Kour PourMeow (Miro), 2021Block printed on canvas using acrylic and oil43 x 28 x 1 1/2 in
109.2 x 71.1 x 3.8 cm -
Kour PourModernism is Cute, 2020Block printed on canvas using acrylic and oil43 x 26 x 1 1/2 in
109.2 x 66 x 3.8 cm -
Kour PourProtector of the House, 2021Block printed on canvas using acrylic and oil43 x 38 x 1 1/2 in
109.2 x 96.5 x 3.8 cm -
Kour PourSpirals and Stripes, 2021Block printed on canvas using acrylic and oil43 x 30 x 1 1/2 in
109.2 x 76.2 x 3.8 cm -
Kour PourTBT, 2020Block printing ink and collage on paper30 x 22 x 1 in
76.2 x 55.9 x 2.5 cm -
Kour PourTsugigami Tiger, 2021Block printing ink and collage on paper32 x 24 x 1 1/2 in
81.3 x 61 x 3.8 cm -
Kour PourTsugigami Tiger, 2021Block printing ink and collage on paper32 x 24 x 1 1/2 in
81.3 x 61 x 3.8 cm -
Kour PourTsugigami Tiger, 2021Block printing ink and collage on paper32 x 24 x 1 1/2 in
81.3 x 61 x 3.8 cm -
Kour PourTsugigami Tiger, 2021Block printing ink and collage on paper32 x 24 x 1 1/2 in
81.3 x 61 x 3.8 cm -
Kour PourTsugigami Tiger, 2021Block printing ink and collage on paper32 x 24 x 1 1/2 in
81.3 x 61 x 3.8 cm -
Kour PourTsugigami Tiger, 2021Block printing ink and collage on paper32 x 24 x 1 1/2 in
81.3 x 61 x 3.8 cm