STOCKHOLM.- Andréhn-Schiptjenko is presenting Omid Delafrouz's third solo exhibition at the gallery - Bouquet for a Day.

Omid Delafrouz has made himself known for his detailed pencil drawings and digitally processed prints filled with references to popular culture from the end of the 20th century. In his new exhibition at the gallery, Delafrouz presents paintings for the first time.

Delafrouz has made poetic interpretations of history, thus developing a comprehensive narrative of Europe from the Holocaust to the Cold War. Associative parallels are drawn between seemingly disparate areas such as political history and the space race, Greek mythology, poetry and art history, but also Formula 1 racing. Rhythmic similarities and recurring symbols indicate how our consciousness and imagery are connected across different disciplines.

An example of the method is the painting Union Flag where the viewer sees the remains of the Matisse work Icare from 1946, after Icarus plunged into the sea. The remaining stars are strikingly similar to a broken EU flag with six stars (one for each original member state), as a representation of a dream of Europe that has become fragmented.

The exhibition as a whole can be seen as an installation consisting of six paintings, where each work is infused with specific markers and references that link back to elements in the other paintings exhibited. Together, the works cross-fertilize each other and create layers of stories and meanings. Delafrouz himself describes the exhibition as a bouquet dedicated to "the sensible animal" or a "tasting of the secondary aroma of the previous century".

Omid Delafrouz (b. 1982, Tehran) lives and works in Stockholm. He graduated from Malmö Academy of the Arts in 2005 and completed his master's degree at Valand Academy of the Arts in Gothenburg in 2007. Delafrouz has previously exhibited at venues such as Alingsås Konsthall, Eskilstuna Art Museum, The Contemporary Art Gallery, Bohuslän, and Göteborgs Konsthall.