Merging artistry with sustainability and meditation in search of a deep connection with nature and a true understanding of energy and human evolution, French-Iranian artist Behnam-Bakhtiar’s creative practice has gone through a transformation over the past few years. Committed to
the preservation of the planet, Sassan now predominantly uses natural pigments sourced mainly from minerals, wood, roots, flowers, rocks and soil, while the wood and linen used for his chassis are sustainably sourced and naturally treated – a true commitment to creating art in harmony with nature, and a first for any contemporary artist painter today.

Sassan’s recent Fari Art Atelier residency focused on sustainable creation and honouring nature. Inspired by the old masters’ traditional use of natural pigments, the resulting series of 20cm x 20cm miniature ‘Living Paintings’ was created using sustainably sourced and natural materials, including ground washed out shells and corals gathered from around the island – a reminder to the art world of a necessary alternative method to creating meaningful art.

As Life Energy returns to its origins at Patina Maldives in July, a select panel of key speakers and leaders from the contemporary art and sustainable development worlds will gather to open an exclusive exhibition and art sale – with 50 percent of the proceeds donated to a local marine conservation NGO to fund research on how better to protect reefs and expand coral restoration efforts. The event will also include the unveiling of a large scale, site-specific ‘Living Painting’, created behind closed doors in Sassan’s Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat atelier, as the latest addition to Patina Maldives’ permanent art collection – joining the likes of James Turrell, Jose Dávila, Cassio Vasconcellos, Hongjie Yang, Hiroko Takeda, and FAHR 021.3.