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TEHRAN – U.S.-based Iranian young artist and calligrapher Arash Shirinbab is displaying a collection of his recent poetic visual art pieces at the Gallery of Fine Arts of Tehran’s Sadabad Cultural Historical Complex.
Entitled “The Inspirations of the Desert”, the exhibit features a new painting style the artist calls poempainting.
“In this style, I use both the linguistic and aesthetic power of words. My inspirations usually begin with a poem whose essence and atmosphere illuminate my own world. Without writing out the entire poem, I extract its key words and paint or inscribe them in different styles of Arabic-Persian calligraphy in my own personal style,” Shirinbab told Tehran Times.
He further explained, “All of the artworks in this exhibition contain the Kufic style of calligraphy. However, for many of the visitors it is difficult to comprehend.
“This has two main reasons. First of all, not many people are familiar with Kufic style’s forms and alphabet. The second reason is behind the way I use Kufic and calligraphy. In some of my artworks, calligraphy becomes a structural foundation and the words become visual elements displaying a mysterious and multifaceted world.”
Shirinbab added that he has taken special private lessons of reading and inscribing traditional Kufic style with master Vahid Musavi Jazayeri.
He also said that his exhibition shows a gradual transition from traditional usage of Kufic calligraphy to modern, contemporary, and personal ones.
The combination of calligraphy, painting and poetry in his works is intended as a dialogue between different art forms and people; something that reflects both his own Persian identity and contemporary, universally comprehensible artistic values.
The young artist further mentioned that two of his more traditional Kufic calligraphy works have been accepted in the 5th International Exhibition of Calligraphy and will be displayed in the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy in Moscow, Russia in March.
“I have also been invited to conduct a master class on the sidelines on March 15,” he said.
Shirinbab is a graduate of Industrial Design from the University of Tehran. He received an MBA in Design Strategy from California College of the Arts in 2012.
He is co-founder and director of an art studio, Ziya Art Center in Berkeley and the National Society of Arabic Script Calligraphers in America (SASCA).
Shirinbab has gained the National Award of Extra Ordinary Talents in Arts and has been a member of the Iran National Elites Foundation since 2008.
Shirinbab’s artworks are exhibited in over 60 exhibitions in galleries and museums around the world including the U.S., Spain, Italy, Poland, France, Russia, Canada and Iran.
The exhibit, which opened on March 6, will be running until March 16.
RM/YAW
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