A calligraphy painting collection by Mohammad-Bagher Ashrafian is on show at Taraneye Baran Art Gallery in Tehran.
Titled ‘City of Dreams’, the collection includes 20 works featuring abstract forms with Persian script.
The artist has used acrylic dye and the calligraphic work is merely decorative without legibility, he said. The artwork reflects the architectural style of the Sasanian Empire (the last Persian Empire from 224 AD to 651 AD before the advent of Islam), colors of the Safavid dynasty (one of the significant ruling dynasties of Persia, 1501 to 1722 AD) and Islamic art and motif decoration, ISNA reported.
Ashrafian emphasized that dense forms and colors are a common feature of his paintings. “Abundance of form and script implies different ideational dimensions of the human mind.”
Man is always seeking utopia or near-perfect qualities, as propounded by ancient Greek philosophers, including Plato.
Each item in the collection is given a mythical title such as ‘The City of Heart’, ‘The City of Legends’, ‘The City of Ambitions’, ‘The Lost City,’ ‘The City of Leili’ (heroine of the famous love story ‘Layla and Majnun’) and ‘The City of Majnun’ (hero of the story).
Ashrafian said the colors and forms “help convey the mood and concept of the work.”
In an introduction to the exhibition he says: “My utopia is a land where my memories from childhood up till now come alive; the land that has not yet been discovered despite all the journeys. The art of calligraphic paintings is the medium to describe it.”
This is Ashrafian’s sixth solo exhibition and will run until August 2 at the gallery located on Shariati Avenue.
