About the work

Cinematic Tension is a growing suite of drawings operating as a potential alternate-reality/near-future, speculative language. Akin to the rhythms found in a suspenseful movie, these gesture collages construct a system of weights and balances to tease out calligraphic movements from another world. Like key figures in a film, the characters cross-pollinate to create not only moments of harmony but also footlights for linguistic fashion.

About the artist

Reza Monahan (b. 1978, Portland, OR) is an artist and filmmaker who holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Art from Art Center College of Design and a BFA in Experimental Film and New Genres from San Francisco Art Institute. His work blends questions of language and cinema within time and space-based projects to unpack ideas surrounding kinesthetics, design and phenomenology. Having produced several hundred short documentaries on art, architecture, and related fields, Monahan’s filmmaking practice has taken him to cities throughout North America, partnering with institutions and journals such as NASA/JPL, LACMA, Dezeen and many others. His installation art and speculative films have exhibited in galleries and venues across the globe including, UNTITLED Art Fair, Miami, ICALA, LAGE EGAL Gallery, Berlin, OR Gallery, Vancouver, Anthology Film Archives, NYC, Monte Vista Projects, Los Angeles, and MiM Gallery, Los Angeles. Most recently he co-curated and featured work in an exhibition titled “SPLIT DIOPTER” at Chapman University’s Guggenheim Gallery.