In KC:s half underground room you meet paintings of heaven and earth. Abbas Mokhtar varies a strong basic form in almost all his paintings. Some sort of square planet, a relief body with skies in it or outside.
An image of the world that can be filled with different contents. Landscapes of different character - a mountain desert with rock formations sticking up, or an earth surface with holes for skies or water. Sometimes the whole basic form is like a tree grove and the land is another continent. The surrounding atmosphere, maybe blue, maybe orange shows itself resting in yet another coating, something I discovered afterwards.
The planet can also give associations of a human body, living or maybe petrified. One painting shows a coalesced couple. The images seems to have a secret language where you find both open and concealed symbolism. Abbas Mokhtars paintings make an impression. He comes from Iran and since five year he is residing here. He also shows some paintings on paper, among them an image, like a collage, with naturalistic trees in leave-taking. The image gives you a rambling idea of a link to Persian miniatures. The well watered, garden of paradise as contrast and background to these almost sculptural more ponderous paintings.

Lisbeth Ahnoff, GP 23 april 2005