A collection of artworks by Mehdi Saeedi, the globally known typographer of Iranian-origin based in Philadelphia, will be held from September 2-30 at Alex Gallery, Washington DC.
The exhibition titled 'From Contour to Calligraphy' will feature 110 posters created by Saeedi, Roozrang magazine of visual arts (roozrang.com) reported.
From Contour to Calligraphy was originally one of Saeedi's books, a selection of his artworks in 384 pages published in 2013. He also held a namesake exhibition at the Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial 2014 in the UAE.
The upcoming event will feature a new project by the prolific artist. On September 16, the exhibition will unveil a video of one of his latest works on the Shahnameh (Book of Kings), a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between 977 and 1010 AD.
Achievements
Saeedi, 36, was born in Tehran. He graduated in Art and Design at Cambridge University, UK and continued his studies through fellowships in Paris, Stuttgart and Maribor. He has participated in many group and solo exhibitions in Iran, Mexico, Taiwan, China, Ukraine, Japan, France, Belgium, Czech Republic, Italy, Russia, Indonesia, Switzerland, Pakistan, Turkey, India, Bolivia, Argentina and many other countries.
He has received numerous awards, such as Grand Prize at the Exhibition of Visual Arts (Iran, 1998 & 1999); First Prize at the 1st International Biennial of the Islamic World Poster (Iran, 2004); Top Award at the 15th International Invitational Poster (Colorado, US, 2007); Grand Prize at Taiwan International Poster Design Award 2007 and Grand prize at the 'Five Stars Designers’ Banquet' International Invitational Poster Triennial of Osaka (Japan, 2009).
Saeedi's works are showcased at many museums around the world including Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts, Iran, Toyama's Museum of Modern Arts and Ogaki Poster Museum in Japan, Wilanow Museum of Posters in Warsaw, Poland, Georges Pompidou Center and Chaumont Museum of Posters in Paris, France, Trnava Museum of Posters in Slovakia and the Netherlands Museum of Posters in Amsterdam.
