At once deeply sincere and totally kidding, artist Hadi Falapishi isn’t afraid to play the clown in his paintings, performances, and sculptures if it gives him permission to share universal truths. Embracing contradictions, Falapishi juxtaposes the charmingly childlike with the expertly crafted as he moves between the creation of cartoonish paintings and meticulous self-portraits in his studio. “It tries to resist this desire from society to see you as one, to frame you as one,” says the artist. “I don’t want to be that.” This documentary short follows Falapishi as he works in his Brooklyn studio exploring the tensions between comedy and critique.

Hadi Falapishi was born in 1987 in Tehran, Iran and currently lives and works in New York City.

Learn more about the artist at: art21.org/hadifalapishi

CREDITS |
"New York Close Up" Series Producer: Nick Ravich
Director & Producer: Lydia Cornett
Executive Producer: Tina Kukielski
Editor: Lydia Cornett, Brian Redondo
Cinematography: Bradley Credit
Additional Cinematography: Lindsay Jackson
Assistant Cameras: Asia Li, Indi Aufranc
Gaffer: Réal Gill
Sound: Brit Fryer, Caroline May
Associate Producer: Andrea Chung
Assistant Curator: Jurrell Lewis
Color Correction: Cédric von Niederhäusern
Sound Design & Mix: Micah Garrido
Design & Graphics: Andy Cahill, Chips
Music: Simon Berggren, A Carousing Consort, Francesco DAndrea, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Martin Puehringer, Sean Nicholas Savage, Sémø
Assistant Editor: Michelle Hanks
Artwork Courtesy: Hadi Falapishi, Andrew Kreps Gallery
Thanks: Art&Newport, Kylen & China, Phoebe Derlee, Joe Fusaro, Miranda Holmes, Dodie Kazanjian, Connor Kreagan, César Martínez Barba, Kevin O’Leary, Preservation Society of Newport County, Rodrigo Valenzuela, Masha Vlasova

© Art21, Inc. 2024. All rights reserved.

“New York Close Up” is made possible with support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the Henry Nias Foundation, and individual contributors.

TRANSLATIONS
Translated subtitles are generously contributed by our volunteer translation community. Visit our translation team at Amara for the full list of contributors:

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