An environmental art project ‘Living Spaces’ by Iranian artists was launched in the Saint George City of Romania on Tuesday.
It features works by 28 veteran and promising Iranian artists, including Noushin Nafisi, Kourosh Golnari, Mahmud Maktabi, Mojtaba Ramzi, Mahdieh Dehghani, Fereshteh Zamani and Tara Goudarzi.
The exhibition presents the latest trends in Persian contemporary art and traditional Iranian philosophy “in the light of the relationship between man and nature.” Persian artists manifest nature in their works which are unique in spirit and form, said event coordinator Mahmud Maktabi, ISNA reported.
As part of the workshop, Hungarian and Transylvanian artists have been invited to participate in the creative works of Persian artists. Artists with different approaches and cultural background will meet and display their works.
Maktabi said Iranian artists were warmly welcomed by the Romanians. “It’s notable how rich and impressive Iranian art and culture is in the international arena.”
Officials from Norwegian, Iceland and Liechtensteinian embassies in Romania are expected to attend the opening ceremony.
The event is jointly sponsored by the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art and the National Sekler Museum of Romania.
Earlier, Maktabi delivered a speech on Iranian contemporary art in the past decade at the National Museum of Romania.
Six Iranian artists will be shortlisted at the end of the show to launch a joint project with seven Romanian artists. Their artworks will be selected by Maktabi and Hungarian judge Peter Alpar.
The project will run for one month.
Background
Born in 1985, Maktabi graduated with a BA degree in painting from Shahed University of Tehran in 2004. He turned to environmental art and performance in 2005 and has participated in several international exhibitions and art festivals.
He was the editor of two Recycling Art Festivals in Qazvin City and the publisher and chief editor of ‘Siah Mashq’, a Persian quarterly on art from 2005 to 2008.
After being selected in the first festival of contemporary art in Iran in 2010, he was evaluated by British art critic Edward Lucie Smith in a book on body art.
Smith presented some of Maktabi’s works in exhibitions such as ‘CONTACT Photography Festival’ in Canada and ‘3 Worlds in 1’ in Lithuania.
Since 2005, as a member of ‘Open 5’, he has participated in many group works in environmental art. He has also undertaken scientific studies on contemporary art.
Maktabi’s latest works were exhibited at GNAP Exhibition 2014-Korea, ‘And Love’ solo exhibition in Yatoo Art Residency in Gongju, South Korea, ‘Hiroshima Memorial’ exhibition in the Qasr Museum of Tehran, ‘Earth and Time’ selective works of environmental Persian artists, the first festival of Environmental Art in Tehran, Eco Art Internet Award America and ‘Nomadic Report’ in Arko art center museum, Seoul, between 2012-2014.
