Veteran painter Hossein Mahjoobi has put together half a century of experience in a new exhibit and is presenting a delicate world of ‘Horses and Trees.’
His exhibition opened August 25 at ‘4 Art Gallery’ in Tehran and will continue until September 22. On display are 32 paintings, a series of ethereal paintings of trees and horses arranged in magical harmony. The paintings have been created over several years, indicating his lifetime fascination with the recurrent motifs.
Mahjoobi, 87, has always been inspired by nature and green sceneries. He is an environmental activist with valuable contributions to green spaces, including his designin of popular parks, namely Sa’ee, Laleh, Jamshidieh, Niavaran and Mellat in Tehran, and also the green spaces of Azadi Stadium, Mehrabad Airport and Azadi Square.
His current exhibition is a showcase of spring sceneries and fresh energy. Mahjoobi has created a mythical word. Trees are full of blossoms. Birds are in joyful flights. Horses are as light as wings, some barely touching the ground. With his fine brushes Mahjoobi has painted in fluid lines and forms. All elements of the paintings have velvety finishes.
He recently talked to Tandis, an online magazine of visual art (tandismag.com).
“Most of my subjects are trees and horses. To use them in paintings was not a planned decision. For me, tree symbolizes life and the horse represents energy. During the many years I spent in designing parks and green spaces, I acquired an intimate grasp of these elements,” he said.
He said he is indeed “amazed” at how the human being is bent on destruction of plants and animals. “Particularly in the past 30 to 40 years, people have taken the liberty to do whatever they want to the planet. My first purpose in painting is to protest this pattern of behavior. Why? How long is the human going to live on Earth!?”
The paintings can be considered Mahjoobi’s compensational response to the harm inflicted on the planet. In them, “everything is beautiful and perfect, without any flaw or pollution. All of them are in peaceful coexistence.”
His longing for such idyllic environments goes far back. “Four decades ago when 6 billion people lived on Earth, I created a painting and named it ‘Mahjoobi’s World. It reflects a serene world where all creatures live in peace.”
The exhibition place ‘4 Art Gallery’ is located at No. 4, Eshraqi Street, Shariati Avenue, south of Seyed Khandan Bridge. Visiting hours are 11 am to 8 pm.
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