فارسیBiography
Masoud Arabshahi (1935–2019) was a painter, sculptor, and one of the leading artists in contemporary Iranian art. His works are a successful combination of modern abstract art and the geometry of surfaces and lines in traditional Iranian architecture. Arabshahi’s works have been considered part of the art of Saqqakhaneh due to their combination of modern and traditional methods; although the use of traditional themes and elements is not directly seen in them.
He was born in Tehran and began studying painting as a teenager under the tutelage of Mahmoud Olia. He then went to the Tehran Boys’ School of Visual Arts to study painting. During these years, Arabshahi copied objects and designs in museums, and his paintings were influenced by the bronzes of Lorestan, the art of Ilam, and Mesopotamia, which he was most interested in.
Before the Revolution
After receiving his diploma, he worked for two years as a graphic designer at the Department of Culture and Arts, and during this period, he became familiar with the methods of working with these materials and glaze colors in the pottery and ceramic workshops of the Ministry of Culture and Arts.
He held his first exhibition in 1964 and graduated from the University of Arts with a master’s degree in interior architecture in 1968. Along with his university studies in painting, sculpture, and architecture, he succeeded in a unique way, by combining mythological symbols in stone inscriptions, lines, and mysterious patterns, expressing unity and instilling a direction that has been skillfully followed through knowledge.
With decades of experience in the field of reliefs and executive works on building facades, along with his unique method of implementing conference halls that is world-renowned, Masoud Arabshahi has carried out major executive works in Iran and other countries.
The reliefs of the entrance to the Chamber of Industries and Mines on Taleghani Street, the Shirokhorshid (Red Crescent) Conference Hall on Arg Square, the wall carvings of the Industrial Management Center, a bronze statue in Khazaneh Park, the reliefs on the walls of Taleghani Park on Shahid Haqqani Highway, and the “Light and Plant” collection on the wall of Baharestan Mansion are among these works.
In the 1970s, Masoud Arabshahi founded the “Free Group of Painters and Sculptors” with other visual artists such as Faramarz Pil-Aram and Marco Grigoryan. With the help of people such as Sirak Malekanian and Morteza Momayez, they held exhibitions in Iran and other countries.
He published the book Avesta from the Perspective of Modern Art in collaboration with Firuz Shirvanloo. This book was a collection of more than 80 paintings by Masoud Arabshahi, with excerpts from the Avesta written at the bottom of each image. The work was published in Persian, English, and French.
After the revolution
After the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Masoud Arabshahi left Iran for a while and spent a few years in France and the United States. His stay abroad introduced him to other works, approaches, and materials in the visual arts.He also held exhibitions and worked on reliefs during those years. After returning to Iran in the 1990s, he held several exhibitions of his works. He also designed and executed reliefs for other buildings, including the Islamic Summit Hall.
Style
Arabshahi was heavily influenced by ancient art during his studies. His studies in architecture and extensive research into ancient art have had a significant impact on his art. References to traditional themes are structurally evident in Arabshahi’s works, in the form of color, textures, lines, and abstract surfaces. He continued to work with plaster and clay, adding lines and patterns to his paintings. The foundation of his works is formed by specific forms that refer to his structure and way of thinking. A foundation in areas of spirituality and concept that leads to exploration, root finding, and changes.
He represented the mythological motifs of ancient art with modern methods and an abstract approach. He himself has said that he was passionate about understanding the meaning of the symbols of the past as used by their creators and, in this way, introducing the people who lived on this land before him.
Arabshahi’s paintings and bas-reliefs have been considered a reinterpretation of archetypes and myths, cultural elements and symbols, and reminiscent of the planning of historical monuments. He was inspired by Achaemenid and Assyrian art, and even Babylonian carvings and inscriptions; The combination of two-dimensional and three-dimensional motifs in his works is another characteristic derived from ancient art. This characteristic of combining tradition and modernity has led Masoud Arabshahi to be considered among the artists of the Saqqakhaneh school.
Awards
Masood Arabshahi won the first prize at the Fourth Tehran Biennial (the first prize of the country’s fine arts) in Farvardin 1343, the first prize at the Monaco-France International Exhibition in 1352, the first prize at the Mother’s Day Exhibition in 1352, and the first prize at the Tehran Sculpture Competition in 1353.
Exhibitions
19 solo exhibitions of Masoud Arabshahi’s works have been held in Iran, the United States, and France. He has also participated in more than 40 group exhibitions in Iran, the United States, France, Switzerland, Tunisia, Italy, Morocco, and England. Arabshahi’s last exhibition was held in the mid-1980s.