Archive for category: Visual Arts

Date: 10 June 20017

Iranian Artists Forum (IAF) will host an illustration exhibition on ancient Iranian tales and religious stories.

The Tehran event is the 5th IAF annual exhibition under the general title ‘Art Feast.’ It is slated for June 9-19 at the forum’s Shahnaz Gallery.

A collection of artworks by Iranian illustrators, created in the past 50 years will be featured, according to Roozrang magazine of visual art (roozrang.com).

Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA) is organizing the event in cooperation with the Tehran-based publishing houses ‘Nazar’ and ‘Monadi-Tarbiat’ institute of art and culture affiliated to the Ministry of Education.

Participating artists include graphic designer and illustrator Farshid Mesqali, 74, painter and illustrator Bahman Dadkhah, 77, painter and graphic designer Ali Akbar Sadeqi, 80, as well as animator, concept artist, graphic designer, illustrator and sculptor Noureddin Zarrinkelk, 80.

Other prominent artists whose works will be on display include illustrator Akbar Nikanpour, 61, painter, author, illustrator and journalist Parviz Kalantari (1931-2016) and illustrator Maneli Manouchehri, 43.

Opening ceremony on June 9 starts at 5 pm. The IAF is located on Iranshahr Street.

Source: Financial Tribune

From left to right: ‘Kay Kavus crowns his grandson Kay Khusraw’ (illustrated manuscript of the Shahnameh), ‘Hunting with a Falcon’ (illustrated manuscript of an Anthology of Persian Treatises for Prince Baysunghur), ‘Prince Isfandiyar challenges his father, King Gushtasp’ (illustrated folio from the Great Ilkhanid Shahnameh), ‘Khusraw leaves Shirin in his palace’ (illustrated manuscript of Farhad and Shirin by Vahshi Bafqi), and ‘Timur celebrates his conquest of Delhi’ (illustrated folio from the Zafarnama

Date: 16 May 2017

An exhibition of Persian classic paintings will be held at the Harvard Art Museums, part of Harvard University in Massachusetts, the US, 20 May to 13 August 2017.

The exhibition features illustrated Persian manuscripts and detached folios collected in the early 20th century by Harvard alumnus Bernard Berenson (1865–1959), the famous American art historian and connoisseur of Italian Renaissance painting.

Berenson prized these works at his home in Florence, Villa I Tatti, which he bequeathed to Harvard and which now serves as the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies.

According to the website of the museums, the US exhibit offers the first opportunity to see the works outside Italy. They are grouped according to the style in which each was created between the 14th and 17th centuries in Iran and Central Asia.

Additional related works from the Harvard Art Museums, the Morgan Library and Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum will also be displayed at the show.

The works were collected by close associates of Berenson who shared his enthusiasm for Persian painting, at a time when this area of art was gaining currency among collectors.

Shedding new light on Berenson’s little-known and understudied Persian collection, the exhibition highlights current research from various scholars on Berenson’s collecting interests and the artistic and cultural significance of the objects.

Among the works to be showcased at the event, there are several pages from different editions of the Shahnameh (Book of Kings), the long epic poem written by the celebrated Persian poet Ferdowsi (940-1020).

On display also will be Illustrated folios from the Great Ilkhanid Shahnameh, the most elaborate and luxurious manuscript of the Ilkhanid period (a division of the Mongol Empire which ruled Iran and the neighboring territories 1256-1353).

Illustrated Folios From Zafarnama

Illustrated folios from the Zafarnama (Book of Victory), a biography of Timur completed by the Persian historian Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi in 1426, will also be exhibited.

Besides, there will be an illustrated manuscript of an Anthology of Persian Treatises for Prince Baysonghor (1397-1433), a prince from the house of the Timurid Empire (1370-1507). He was known as a patron of arts and architecture, the leading patron of the Persian miniature in Persia, commissioning the Baysonghor Shahnameh and other works, as well as being a prominent calligrapher.

Source: Financial Tribune

Date: 10 may 2017

Works by land artist Ahmad Nadalian on the Persian Gulf islands of Qeshm and Hormoz will be reviewed in an exhibition titled “The Color of Island”, which will open at the Khaneh Mahmudieh Art Gallery in Tehran on Thursday 11 May 2017.

Four ladies from the two islands will be introducing the art, culture, traditional costume, food and handicrafts of the region to visitors during the exhibit..

It has been a decade since Nadalian has chosen to stay on Hormoz Island during the two seasons of autumn and winter.

“The reason I chose the island is its original nature. The nature of the island is beautiful and mysterious. It enjoys a rich environment for a land artist and can be a good source of inspiration,” Nadalian has previously said.

“Training and teaching painting to the women of the island was the most artistic activity of my life, since it proves that art can play a major role in the cultural, economic and social development of the local societies. The women now have new handicrafts to offer and make a living with.”

Nadalian is famous for his land art creations in Iran and around the world. He has been living in nature for many years and searches for raw materials for his artistic creations and later displays them in natural settings.

The exhibit will be running until May 18 at the gallery located at No.7, Farvardin St., Mahmudieh neighborhood.

Source: Financial Tribune

Date: 9 May 2017

Kambiz Derambakhsh, a cartoonist famous for his quick and simple cartoons, plans to hold his second cut-rate exhibit, which will open on Friday.

A collection of photos, cartoons, comic strips and paintings will be showcased at the exhibition, which will be organized at Tehran’s Art Center.

The works will be offered at different prices beginning with 1,000,000 rials (about $27).

Last year, the cartoonist exhibited his first exhibit with a collection of 500 works at Aryana Gallery.

Derambakhsh has previously said that he does not like to pile up works on his desk at home and prefers to give art enthusiasts a chance to have one of them in their homes.

The Art Center is located at North Salimi St., Andarzgu Blvd. in the Farmanieh neighborhood.
Source: Tehran Times

Date: 7 May 2017

The works of 60 artists from across the world, inspired by female personalities who have paved the way for girls and women today, are on display at the Untitled Space gallery in New York.

From Iran, painter and photographer Reza Rafiee Rad, 43, is participating in the exhibition called ‘She Inspires.’

Rafiee Rad is a painter whose field of interest is abstract expressionism. His works have been showcased at several solo and group exhibitions in Iran, Turkey and the US. He has also translated a book into Persian titled ‘Art in Postmodern Situation’ published by Dastan Publications in 2010.

‘She Inspires’ opened on May 2 and will run through May 20. It is organized by art curator and photographer Indira Cesarine who is the owner of the gallery.

“I felt it was a really important time to take a step back and try to focus on a very inspirational show that could encourage empowerment and inspiration,” Cesarine told Global Citizen (globalcitizen.org), an American community-based social platform.

“Unfortunately, in America women are not nearly as encouraged as men to run for office, and yet statistically when women run for office they have an equal opportunity of actually winning. But at the end of the day, fewer women do run,” Cesarine said.

The women that are featured in the show’s artwork are not only inspirational women in politics, but those in science, music, space, and philosophy.

The artists behind the work have come from all over the world, each with their own backgrounds and experiences with gender discrimination. At least nine of the 60 artists are men.

Rafiee Rad has previously expressed his concerns about women’s empowerment at ‘Dada Lives,’ an exhibition held in May-June 2016, featuring 100 artists from over 20 nations at the Blue Ash College Art Gallery, University of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Highlighting Achievements

The likes of Queen Elizabeth II, Nina Simone, Michelle Obama, Alicia Keys, and Egyptian queen Nefertiti will also line the exhibit’s walls.

‘She Inspires’ intends to turn away from criticism and negativity, drawing more on the feats and accomplishments of such women.

“Men and women need to be encouraged to reflect on some of the incredible achievements of women, which have been marginalized and lost along the way,” Cesarine said.

About 10% of the proceeds from the exhibition will go to ‘She Should Run,’ a non-partisan American organization, which is working toward recruiting more girls and women to become involved in public leadership.

Source: Financial Tribune