The Dubai based Meem Gallery has organized an exhibition of two of the greatest living Iranian artists, Parviz Tanavoli and Abbas Kiarostami. The show features thirty sculptural pieces by Tanavoli and photographic works by internationally recognized Kiarostami.
“Having studied under Marino Marini’s tutelage at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Carrara and Milan for four years, Parviz Tanavoli returned to his native Iran, in 1960. Two years later, along with several contemporaries, the 27 year-old artist became instrumental in initiating his country’s first modern art movement the Saqqa-Kahaneh. The name comes from public water fountains which were located in old community centers. “The Saqqa-Khaneh (literally, the water-carrier’s house) can be in a little building or a niche in a wall, or even just a shelf containing a tap or fountain or jug, usually set behind an iron grille,” explains Sheila Blair. “Passerby can not only quench their thirst but also ask for fulfillment of pious requests after leaving a small votive gift – often a padlock signifying a binding vow.” The founders of the movement looked for inspiration in Iranian folk art and executed them in western media.
At this cross road of western and eastern aesthetic educations and influences, the roots of Tanavoli’s art and its perpetual modulation between at times confliecting and others overlapping forms were planted. For more nearly half a century, Iran’s greatest living artist has been finding ideas for his sculptural creations in Islamic, pre-Islamic as well as western architectural references, artistic traditions, mythic tales and rituals.”
Exceprt from an interview with Parviz Tanavoli by Homa T. Nasab for the London-based publication Eastern Art Report, Spring 2007
* Courtesy of artist: Abbas Kiarostami
