Glorious Artists Grace Exhibition and Sale

The 10th edition of art exhibition and sale ‘Haft Negah’ (Seven Views) opened on November 24 at Niavaran Cultural Center in north Tehran.

An estimated 200 artists are displaying their works including paintings, calligraphy and sculptures.  Prices start from five million rials ($125) and end at seven billion rials ($175,000), Honaronline reported.

The most expensive work is a painting by celebrated poet and painter Sohrab Sepehri (1928-1980). The painting is on a cardboard and is priced at 7 billion rials ($170,000). It was among the first works sold.

After Sepehri’s work, the next expensive is by painter and graphic designer Aydin Aqdashlou, 77. Price: 3 billion rials ($75,000).

Among the high-priced paintings is a portrait of the popular statesman who nationalized Iran’s oil industry in 1951. The painting by Parvaneh Etemadi, 48, shows the truthful face of Dr. Mohammad Mosaddeq (1882-1967), Iran’s democratically elected prime minister. The portrait is priced at 1.5b rials ($37,500).

One side of the exhibit is only for small works by pioneers: two paintings on cardboard by celebrated Assyrian-Iranian painter, sculptor, poet, author and translator Hannibal Alkhas (1930-2010); two paintings of flower and vase by modernist painter Farideh Lashai (1944-2013); two works on metal by painter Masoud Arabshahi, 81; and two ink-on-cardboard paintings by painter and sculptor Mohammad Hossein Emad, 60.

The special wall of pioneers also features two desert paintings by painter, illustrator and author Parviz Kalantari (1931-2016) and one abstract painting by Iranian-Armenian painter Sirak Melkonian, 86.

In one corner of the exhibition there are a number of small sculptures among which is a goat created by self-taught sculptor Tavakkol Esmaili (1923-1994) also known as Mash Esmail. The small goat is tagged at 500m rials ($12,500). A metal figurine by avant-garde sculptor Jazeh Tabatabaei (1931-2008) carries a  700-million-rial ($17,500) price tag.

  Top Selling Artist

There also are eight metal goats by emerging artist Reza Barati. He has managed to sell six, each for 8 million rials ($200) and became the best selling artist on opening day.

Another wall of the exhibit is adorned with calligraphy and calligraphic paintings created by renowned artists. A small work by painter, graphic designer and calligrapher Mohammad Ehsai, 78, is priced at 500m rials ($12,500); a calligraphy on golden background in the script of broken nastaliq by calligrapher Reza Mafi (1943-1981) is priced 300m rials ($7,500); a work by graphic designer and painter Ebrahim Haqiqi, 68, is 100m rials ($2,500); and a colorful calligraphic painting by Ali Shirazi, 36, is on sale for 800m rials ($20,000).

Two rooms of the venue are allocated to works by young and emerging artists. Most of their works are in small dimensions and at more affordable prices.

The mission of the joint effort by seven galleries is to promote the economics of art or cultural economics (a branch of economics that studies the economics of creation, distribution, and the consumption of works of art) and introduce genuine artworks at reasonable prices.

It provides an opportunity for new talent to display their works beside works of experienced artists.

The event is organized over the past nine years by seven Tehran galleries: Aria, Elaheh, Day, Golestan, Mah-e-Mehr, Haft Samar and Vali.  However, this year one of the original organizers Day Art Gallery is absent and the show is run by six galleries. However, the absence has not caused any change in the name of the exhibition.

The 10th ‘Haft Negah’ will run through December 8 at Niavaran Cultural Center, located at the northern end of Pasdaran Street, across Niavaran Park.