.jpg "Art fans visit an exhibition displaying works of a number of major artists of the Saqqakhaneh Movement at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art on August 20, 2013. (ISNA/Hamidreza Dastjerdi)")
TEHRAN – An exhibition displaying works of a number of major artists of the Saqqakhaneh Movement, an artistic movement that began in Iran during the 1960s, opened during a ceremony at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMCA) on Tuesday.
The Saqqakhaneh Movement, also called Saqqakhaneh School, is a neo-traditional style of art that derives inspiration from Iranian folk art and culture. This movement sought to integrate popular symbols of Shia Muslim culture in art.
Deputy Culture Minister for Artistic Affairs Hamid Shahabadi, TMCA Director Ehsan Aqaii, secretary of the exhibit Mehdi Hosseini, and a group of artists and critics attended the ceremony.
Speaking at the ceremony, Hosseini described the Saqqakhaneh Movement as one of the major movements in the history of Iranian art and added that many enduring works have been created in this style.
This is the first time that such a great number artworks in this style have been brought together in an exhibition, he added.
About 100 works by major figures of the Saqqakhaneh Movement including Parviz Tanavoli, Sadeq Tabrizi, Masud Arabshahi, Hossein Zendehrudi and Faramarz Pilaram have been put on display at the exhibit, which will run until November 12.
RM/YAW
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