Born in Tunisia and now based in Berlin, Taher Jaoui has lived many lives as an engineer, an actor, and an artist. While it might not seem like these three career paths have anything in common, Jaoui’s background in mathematics and financial engineering has had a profound impact on his artistic style and identity. The three new bodies of work in “Controlled Entropy” merge colors, numbers, and mathematical principles, presenting moments of both lucidity and chaos. Organized in conjunction with Uncommon Beauty, the exhibition is Jaoui’s first solo show and is now up at 81 Leonard Gallery through February 28th
What initially struck me about Jaoui’s work is the grand scale of his canvases and his ability to combine the forces of colors, figures, and textures in a way that works. With no formal art education or training, Jaoui pulls inspiration from diverse sources — the street art scene, artists like Vasily Kandinsky and Jean Michel Basquiat, African primitive art, and the COBRA movement. It is clear that he is not afraid ‘to go for it.’ Spontaneity is his game, and his canvases are a melded combination of oil, enamel, charcoal, and spray paint. While it is hard to tell if each painting is meant to tell a specific story or reference to a specific period of time in his life, Jaoui’s successful in portraying what chaos looks like to him and more importantly, how chaos can be controlled within the confines of a canvas.
