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19 7 0 s - 2 0 11 W o r k s f r o m t h e A r t i s t ’s C o l l e c t i o n

Parviz Tanavoli

Austin / Desmond Fine Art

Pied Bull Yard 68/69 Great Russell StBloomsbury London WC1B 3BN

Telephone: + 44 (0)20 7242 4443

Email: [email protected]: www.austindesmond.com

Poet in Love

2 3Parviz Tanavoli, Minneapolis Studio 1961

Thirty-five years have passed since my first encounter with Parviz Tanavoli in Iran: years of creation and

achievement, of revolution and heartache, of exile and return. More than a friend, he was also a mentor

who taught me to decipher (and cherish) some of the rich visual codes of Persian culture. Furthermore, he

did so not by leading me pedantically through museums and archeological sites but simply by welcoming

me to his atelier, where the language of the past was being transmuted into a vivid contemporary idiom.

This vital synthesis is, without doubt, the greatest achievement of the greatest sculptor to emerge from

the modern Islamic world. For decades, gifted artists from Iran or Iraq, Egypt or Morocco had studied in

famous Western art centers and returned home to shoulder the burden of a seemingly irresolvable

dilemma. Either they could apply their skills to the traditional arts or propagate the styles and techniques

acquired in their journeyman years – at the risk of being labeled epigones. It was, of course, not merely

Islamic artists who faced such a dilemma, but more generally those whose vision had initially been fostered

by a powerful traditional aesthetic and were subsequently exposed to a contemporary Western form

language. (The extraordinarily rich visual heritage of Iran, on the other hand, lent the choice particular

urgency.)

Tanavoli resolved the dilemma by embracing the arts and handicrafts of his own culture but also by

literally reinventing them, passing them through the filter of his own exposure to Western movements. In

this regard, his greatest early influence was undoubtedly that of Marino Marini, with whom Tanavoli

studied at the Accademia di Bella Arte di Brera in Milan, graduating in 1959. Like his precocious student,

Marini was deeply influenced by the art of the past – particularly that of the Etruscans, which inspired his

recurrent equestrian motifs. “Here in Tuscany,” Marini once remarked, “the past is an essential aspect of

our life. We live daily in the midst of artworks from previous times.” The teacher thus offered a prime

example of the fact that the past can be an enrichment rather than a burden in the evolution of an

individual style.

Central to Tanavoli’s development was the fact that he engaged himself far less with the rigidly stylized

courtly art of illuminated manuscripts and intricate ornamentation than with the popular arts and everyday

handicrafts of Iran, as well as posters and calligraphy. For him such utilitarian objects as locks and ewers,

birdcages and ladders and simple tools bore witness to an innocent, indigenous sense of the beautiful that

could be found in the simplest of households. He thus embraced what he once described as “the collective

actions of the average people on the street to produce and market their wares, to make a living and even

to rejoice during happy occasions and mourn during sorrowful ones.” When I departed Iran in 1978,

Tanavoli and I were collaborating on an exhibition for the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art to be

The Global Vision of Parviz TanavoliD r D a v i d G a l l o w a y

54

entitled “Useful Objects,” for which we had begun to acquire artifacts at the bazaars in Tehran, Shiraz

and Isfahan. These would have been presented like artworks on pedestals and in showcases,

underscoring their inherent beauty and encouraging pride in such vernacular objects, which were

increasingly threatened by anonymous, mass-manufactured goods.

Such was the sensibility that informed the course taken by Parviz Tanavoli, who returned to Iran in

1959 with the praise of Marino Marini and Henry Moore still ringing in his years. In rapid succession he

established his own Atelier Kaboud on Pahlavi Avenue, which became a vital meeting place for young

artists and the scene of groundbreaking exhibitions; began to teach sculpture at the new College of

Decorative Arts, of which he was a founding member; represented Iran at the Venice Biennial;

established the influential movement known as the Saqqakhaneh School; and made the acquaintance of

the courageous American collector Abby Grey, who would introduce him to an American audience.

Meanwhile, he was increasingly working in metal and would ultimately create the sole foundry in the

Middle East for the production of art and train assistants in the craft. Like Marini, however, his

engagement as a sculptor did not dim his enthusiasm for painting. As though his duties as teacher, artist

and sometime-gallerist were not enough, Tanavoli was becoming increasingly active as a collector (of

rugs and locks, for example) and author. It was this extraordinarily rich and multifaceted world into

which he graciously invited me in 1976, and where my own Iranian apprenticeship would begin.

S a q q a k h a n e h

Literally speaking, the saqqakhaneh or “house of the water bearer” is a public fountain, typically fed by

a cistern set into a wall and protected by a metal grill. Such sources not only provided drinking water

for passersby but also functioned as neighborhood meeting places. In more elaborate versions, the

water was contained in a large,

cylindrical brass tank, often

elaborately decorated and with

three domes on top – the central

and largest of them crowned by an

upraised hand of flat brass,

perforated with a calligraphic

design. The symbolism alludes to

the Battle of Karbala, in which

Abbas, the brother of Husayn, the

third Shiite Imam, attempts to

bring water to his thirsty people by

breaching the enemy lines to reach

a nearby river. Determined to fill a

waterskin for the thirsty women

and children and the wounded

Husayn, he is detected and his

right hand cut off. The saqqakhaneh itself thus bears historic and religious connotations but represents,

above all, the universal, life-giving properties of water itself.

This commonplace location is at once fountain, altar and symbolic tomb, where visitors attach talismans,

locks and strips of cloth to make fast their vows and petitions. The grill, akin to that protecting the tombs

of holy men but also a common feature of desert architecture, provides a powerful graphic element that

frequently appears in Tanavoli’s paintings and prints, as well as his sculptures. This complex but deeply

poetic metaphor, in itself a kind of manifesto, was central to the indigenous movement that was

germinated at the Atelier Kaboud. It is illuminating to know something about the religious and cultural

background of this first contemporary art movement in the Islamic world, which drew on sources that may

well seem exotic to the Western viewer. In this context, it is also instructive to explore the sources for

Tanavoli’s recurrent use of the caged bird, the fallen man, the wall or the ubiquitous figure known as

heech, since all are firmly rooted in an ancient culture of great beauty. On the other hand, such detailed

knowledge is by no means essential to an appreciation of the work itself, which is rich in information but

free of all didacticism. Tanavoli’s idiom moves far beyond the anthropological or folkloristic to assert what

I described in an earlier essay as “the universal particular.”

It is a fundamental irony of art that the work that is most local and particular, the most firmly rooted

in a particular place and time, may also be the most universal. (In the great classic of modern art theory,

The Work of Art in the Age of its Technical Reproducibility, Walter Benjamin argued that “The uniqueness

of a work of art is identical to its embeddedness in the context of tradition.”) Furthermore, the grill of the

saqqakhaneh, festooned with talismans, has its Western equivalents in the secret rag-trees of Celtic

cultures – usually located close to wells or springs - or in the padlocks fastened to a protective grill on

Cologne’s Hohenzollern Bridge by young lovers who throw the keys into the Rhine. Thought to have

originated in China, the tradition has sparked love-lock movements from Prague to Moscow, Florence to

Tel Aviv. In Montevideo locks are attached, as in the ancient Persian tradition, to a fountain. Plainly, then,

the particular customs evoked by the saqqakhaneh touch on issues of yearning, devotion and fidelity that

know no boundaries. While reflecting in detail on a Persian heritage, they simultaneously strike a universal

chord that emanates from the execution of an artist’s vision and not, simply, from his sources.

F a r h a d t h e M o u n t a i n C a r v e r

In addition to the existential issues affecting all artists who were trained in the West and then returned to

traditional cultures, Parviz Tanavoli was confronted by the absence of a sculptural legacy. Or so it seemed

at first glance. Even taking into consideration the Acaemenian bas-reliefs and statues left behind in the

remains of Zoroastrian temples, there are no surviving sculptural relics comparable to those of China or

India. Furthermore, with the advent of Islam, sculptors had disappeared as a guild in Persia. It was his

fascination with popular arts and crafts that eventually showed Tanavoli a way out of this seeming vacuum,

for what might be thought of as the essence of sculpture had indeed found rich expression in the

articulated brickwork of mosques, in pottery and metalworking, in ornamental gratings, birdcages, jewelry

and Luristan bronzes. And there were convenient ruses, as well. As Tanavoli reflects today, “…in the guise

of handles, artisans attached human and animal forms to the vessels they made.” The locks that fascinatedCage and Locks 1964, Wood, iron, oil on paper and glass, 100 x 98 cm, Museum of Parviz Tanavoli, Tehran

76

Tanavoli even as a child and that were attached to the grills of shrines and fountains were often crafted

in the form of animals.

Elsewhere, too, even the strict Islamic prohibition of figurative art could not banish the images of

lions and birds that were so deeply entwined with Persian culture. A symbol of power and sovereignty,

the lion had once watched over the temples of Anahita, the goddess of water. Even with the advent of

Islam, the lion remained a potent symbol, though now said to represent Ali, the first Shiite Imam. In the

1960s, shortly after his return from Italy, Tanavoli discovered the magnificent lion rugs that were still

being created by simple tribal people. They would soon become the focus of one of his most important

collections. (Thanks to these experiences, he would later prepare his own designs for carpets that were

executed by traditional weavers.) Traveling through the Fars Mountains and Bakhtiari territory in search

of them, he also encountered the powerful, often semi-abstracted shapes of stone lions that were place

on the tombs of heroes and warriors from the same areas where lion rugs were crafted. Thus, with a

singular mixture of passion and serendipity, Parviz Tanavoli prepared himself to don the mantle of the

legendary Farhad the Mountain Carver – the only sculptor referred to in classical Persian poetry.

That story, retold in numerous variations by countless Sufi poets, is frequently repeated in

conjunction with Tanavoli’s work, but its outlines must be sketched here, too, for those unfamiliar with

this tender-tragic love story. The triangular tale involves Farhad, a stonecutter, the Armenian princess

Shirin and Khosrow Parviz, one of the greatest of the Sassanian kings, who ruled prior to the Islamic

conquest. As a rival for the hand of the beautiful princess, Farhad rose to the challenge of carving a

passage through Mount Bisotoon to open up the view from the palace. (In variations on the task, he

must carve steps from the cliffs or chip away the base until the mountain is suspended in air.) When he

seemed to be succeeding, the king sent an old woman to Farhad with the false information that his

beloved Shirin was dead. In Tanavoli’s exegesis of the story, “Distressed and heartbroken, Farhad fell

from the mountain and died, thus bringing to an end the sculptural tradition. Some years later Islam

conquered Iran and forbad all representational art. Farhad was thus my own nearest ancestor, though

he had died 14 centuries before my birth…. To me Farhad was no mere votary of love who carved an

entire mountain for the love of Shirin; he was a sculptor par excellence.”

H e e c h

In a remarkably short period of time following his return to Iran after completing his studies in Europe,

Parviz Tanavoli had embraced themes deeply rooted in Persian culture and begun to transpose them into

a global idiom. The striking form language he would develop over the course of a long and fruitful

career included the lock, the hand, the cage, the bird and the lion, as well as Farhad the Mountain

Carver (sometimes identified as the hero or the poet). In addition to these icons, which have parallels in

numerous other cultures and seem capable of endless variation, a curious figure emerged that is at once

whimsical and deeply philosophical: the heech, which in Farsi designates nothingness. Tanavoli’s use of

the figure was in part a reaction to the young artists who claimed membership in the Saqqakhaneh

School merely by covering their canvases with calligraphy. Hence, in the artist’s own words, “I decided

to foreswear calligraphy or, at most, to confine myself to a single written word. For a long while, I

contemplated what this singular word should be, until finally heech suggested itself.” There were, as he

later learned, various artistic precedents for his choice within the traditions of Sufism, as well as certain

parallels to the Zen concept of “Mu” (which translates as emptiness or nothingness), for which a

devoted practitioner strives. But in the West, too, one could encounter similar notions in the writings of

the Existentialists – above all, in Jean-Paul Sartre’s influential Being and Nothingness.

Tanavoli himself has cited parallels to the monochrome canvases and “Cardboards” of Robert

Rauschenberg, but also to Andy Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup Cans” and his portraits of Marilyn Monroe.

“A decade after he had produced these works, Warhol himself referred to them as ‘the essence of

nothing’.” Yet Tanavoli insists that his own nothingness was never tinged with the cynicism that often

accompanied Western art and philosophy. “Mine,” he insisted, “was the nothingness of hope and

friendship, a nothingness that did not seek to negate. In my mind, it was not life that amounted to

nothing, but rather nothing that brimmed with life itself. Another feature that enhanced its appeal for

me was the lovely proportionate shape of heech. Like the human figure, it was soft and pliable and

could easily assume different positions such as reclining or sitting on a chair or leaning against a table.”

The first appearance of a heech in Tanavoli’s work was in an assemblage created in 1965 for a

controversial show at Tehran’s Borghese Gallery. In the upper part of the composition was a plastic circle

enclosing the word “heech,” also in plastic and rendered in a flowing Persian script. Below this emblem,

a pair of plaster hands grasped a copper grill, as though pleading for help. In the nine years that

followed, Tanavoli would render his heech in drawings and paintings, monumental sculptures and

delicate jewelry, as well as creating a mass-produced series in plastic, intended to democratize the

figure. Later, when heech threatened to overwhelm the artist and his oeuvre, Tanavoli bid a kind of

aesthetic adieu by concentrating on the shadow of the ubiquitous form: ”This opened a new portal to

me through which I was ushered by heech itself.” He would nonetheless return to the figure as a mature

artist, once more demonstrating his remarkable ability to transmogrify his favorite icons into paintings,

sculptures or drawings.

Farhad has Fallen 1959 Plaster and Iron 34 x 110 x 42 cm, Collection of Savina Greninger, Genoa

8

When he first turned away from heech as a motif, the “new portal” that opened before him was the

wall – the first of which was dedicated to Farhad, and it paved the way for other, monumental walls

constructed of bronze “bricks” that ultimately reflected a panoply of Persian themes. As Tanavoli

recalled in his memoirs:

I subsequently arrived at the idea that Iran was a wall from end to end. Every

time an Iranian builds a house or garden, he surrounds it with a wall; every

carpet… carries a wall-like border around the periphery. What mystery lay

concealed behind those borders and walls, I did not know. I had other

objectives in mind. For instance, I built a wall in whose shade Farhad could

rest, or I provided an opening in the middle as an entrance for him. As a

result, some of my walls began to resemble pulpits (minbar), though it was

not mosque pulpits I had in mind. To me the structure of the minbar,

especially with the steps leading to the top where the spiritual leader sits,

has been a source of wonder.

In another time and in other pages, one might reflect in greater detail on the role of wonder in the

reception of art. For me as an American, a poignant phrase clings to memory, in which the narrator of

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby reflects on the discovery of America and concludes with the remark

that the Dutch sailor, on first viewing the coast of the New World, was “face to face, for the last time

in history, with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder.” That very capacity echoes,

reverberates and resounds throughout the remarkable oeuvre of Parviz Tanavoli. With his return to the

London scene after too many years of absence, those achievements can be appreciated in a new light.

The survey mounted by Austin / Desmond Fine Art includes the “classic” iconography that makes the

artist instantly recognizable on the international art scene, and it features works in all the genres he has

so persuasively mastered. Not only has Parviz Tanavoli repeatedly crossed cultural frontiers; he has also

moved with ease and elegance among disciplines, lending each his own distinctive imprimatur.

Parviz Tanavoli, Vancouver Studio 2011

11Artists Studio, Tehran 2011

It is a great pleasure to have been asked to write a few lines on celebrated polymath Parviz Tanavoli. I was

particularly struck by his work when I saw it displayed in the Great Court at the British Museum during Word

into Art - large inviting fiberglass 'heeches' led to the main exhibition space where a smaller bronze 'heech

in a cage' was shown in the opening gallery. This was in 2006 and I have since followed Parviz's work closely.

Parviz is often being referred to as a key figure in Iranian modern art which he certainly is. After studying

in Italy, he returned to Iran where his studio became known as 'Atelier Kaboud'. There many of his

contemporaries would see his work, inspired by traditional Persian motifs and crafts, and in turn exhibit

theirs. Simultaneously the Saqqakhaneh movement composed of artists interested in their own cultural

heritage and practices emerged with Parviz as one of its founding members. Throughout the years Parviz's

work developed while remaining deeply rooted in the artist's own cultural background. Persian poetry, arts,

crafts, and architecture have consistently enthused his work. It is this strong and sustained interest combined

with his deep knowledge - Parviz is a scholar in fields such as Persian rugs and locks - so key to his artistic

career that perhaps make him such an important figure of Iranian modern and contemporary art. Today

many notable younger generation artists among them Khosrow Hassanzadeh and the Haerizadeh brothers

still draw a lot from Persian heritage and popular culture both in form and content. If the work of these

artists also address socio-political issues and notions of identity Parviz's work remains essentially rooted in

poetry. His variations on the word 'heech' (which translates as 'nothingness') - whether of painted fiberglass

or in bronze, standing alone, in pairs, in a cage or reclining - instill pure moments of reflection. Over the

years I have seen many and never have I found 'nothingness' to be so spiritually engaging. These now well

known works seem to have taken a life of their own and it is as a body of work that they gain all their sense.

This I think is also true of his wonderful poet series whether paintings, prints or sculptures. They invite poetic

reflection with shapes reminiscent of keys and locks accentuating intellectual and formal plays between the

inside and outside, what is concealed or exposed.

Parviz's work shows a true and serious line of thought being skillfully unraveled. He masters aspects of

his cultural heritage and successfully builds upon it. Of course many artists worldwide draw on past

traditions, Grayson Perry's ceramics or the Chapman brothers's wallpaper in an 18th century French 'Toile

de Jouy' style come to mind, however it is Parviz's specific and sustained interest in Iran's rich though little

explored heritage and artistic traditions that perhaps adds a stimulating perspective to contemporary

creativity today.

Parviz Tanavoli – A Personal NoteS a e b E i g n e r

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C A T A l o G u EIt has been an exciting experience putting together this exhibition, which includes Parviz Tanavoli’s carpet,

sculptures, works on paper and ceramics.

This catalogue has been structured around the artist’s favourite subjects: Poets, Lovers, Hand, Bird, Lion,

Wall along with calligraphic figure of Heech (Nothingness). Introducing each of these sections is a piece in

an international collection or museum.

The Poet in Love exhibition could not have realised its full potential without the contribution, hard work

and support of many dedicated individuals. I was privileged to spend time with Parviz in his workshop where

I witnessed not only his vision take form, but also his enthusiasm to teaching and guiding the next

generation of artists. My deepest appreciation goes to John Austin who, from the beginning of this project

to the very end, trusted and gave me free reign to indulge in my passion.

I owe a very special debt of gratitude also to Mr. Vahid & Maryam Alaghband, Mrs. Maryam Eisler and

Mrs. Fati Maleki for their invaluable assistance and guidance. Other friends who have been especially helpful

in a number of ways; Mrs. Farah Hakemi, Dr. Venetia Porter, Curator - Department of the Middle East, British

Museum and Dr. Jessica Morgan, The Daskalopoulos Curator, International Art, Tate for their participation

and direction.

Special thank must go to Dr. David Galloway for writing the introduction to this catalogue as well as

Mr. Saeb Eigner and Ms Isabelle Causse. To Meem Gallery, Dubai for generously providing us with images.

Setareh Meshkati London, September 2011

Preface & Acknowledgements

Foremost Iranian artist, Parviz Tanavoli, was a founder member of Saqqakhaneh a term coined for an artistic movement which began in 1960s Iran and which soughtto integrate popular symbols of Shi'a culture in art, a spiritual Pop Art as it has beendescribed. He has long been inspired by the word Heech meaning nothing - which hehas created in numerous and ever more ambitious forms. It has been said that theword symbolizes for him both an ambivalence towards the past and a sense ofmeaningless or dissolution with an inadequate present. The letter forms are in thetraditional Persian script nasta'liq while the cage alludes to the Saqqakhaneh itself, aceremonial public structure constructed in memory of thirsty Shi'a martyrs at Kerbelawhich gave its name to the movement.

Dr. Venetia Porter, Curator - Department of the Middle East, British Museum

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Poet and the Nightingale’s Cage 1970

BronzeUniqueSigned and dated112 x 80 x 30 cm

Collection: Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran

Literature: Ellen H. Johnson et.al. Parviz Tanavoli Bronze Sculpture, Grey Art Gallery,

New York, 1977, p 42

David Galloway, ed. Parviz Tananvoli, Sculptor, Writer & Collector, Tehran, 2000, illus. p. 158, 159

Parviz Tanavoli, Alireza Sami-Azar, Kamran Diba, Siah Armajani, Shiva Balaghi, Tandis Tanavoli, Gisela Fock, Samar Faruqi, Charles Pocock, Parviz Tanavoli Monograph, Dubai, 2010, illus. p.197

The poet carries the cage within himself, within his own breast,where a bird is held captive. This bird, represented by some poets asa restless nightingale, is constantly agitated and impatient, piningfor a nameless beloved who, though not entirely unattainable, iswon only after tortuous ordeals.

Parviz Tanavoli

16

1

Poet and Bird 2009

BronzeUniqueSigned and dated115 x 48 x 31.5 cm

Exhibited: Dubai, Meem Gallery, Parviz Tanavoli and Abbas Kiarostami, 2009-2010, another example exhibited Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Festival, Middle Eastern Modern Masters, 2010

Literature: Parviz Tanavoli, Alireza Sami-Azar, Kamran Diba, Siah Armajani, Shiva Balaghi,Tandis Tanavoli, Gisela Fock, Samar Faruqi, Charles Pocock, Parviz TanavoliMonograph, Dubai, 2010, illus. p.242

1918

2Poet turning into Heech 1973-2007

BronzeEdition 1/6

Signed and dated 228 x 70 x 58 cm


Literature: Parviz Tanavoli, Alireza Sami-Azar, Kamran Diba, Siah Armajani , Shiva Balaghi, Tandis Tanavoli, Gisela Fock, Samar Faruqi Charles Pocock, Parviz Tanavoli Monograph, Dubai, 2010, illus. p.188

20

3Poet Squeezing Lemon 1999

Pencil on paperSigned and dated30 x 23 cm

4Head of Poet 2009

BronzeUnique19 x 12 x 12 cm

Note: Three different variations exist

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5Poet and Chair II 2010

Bronze Edition 1/3

80 x 75 x 58 cm

2524

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Oh! Nightingale 1974

Silkscreen on paperEdition 27/80Signed, numbered and dated70 x 50 cm

Exhibited: Litho Gallery, Tehran, 1974 Zand Gallery,Tehran, 1978

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Poet Sqeezing Lemon I 1973

Silkscreen on paperEdition 17/34

Signed, numbered and dated 70 x 50 cm

Exhibited: Litho Gallery, Tehran, 1974Zand Gallery, Tehran, 1978

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Lovers VII 1990

BronzeUnique Signed and dated130 x 89 x 79 cm

Literature: Parviz Tanavoli, Alireza Sami-Azar, Kamran Diba, Siah Armajani, Shiva Balaghi, Tandis Tanavoli, Gisela Fock, Samar Faruqi, Charles Pocock, Parviz Tanavoli Monograph, Dubai, 2010, illus. p.157

For many people this kind of devotion or the love of one man toanother is hard to accept. But among the Sufis it is a common task. Inthe history of the Sufis in Iran, there are numerous examples of thelove of a disciple to master (morid and morad). Through words andpoems the nostalgia and agitation of the disciple in the absence of hismaster is expressed.

I clung to Farhad, the Mountain Carver and made of him an ideal herofor myself. -To me Farhad was no mere votary of love who carved anentire mountain for the love of Shirin; he was a sculptor par excellence.It bothered me little that nothing of his work was left to posterity. Thelegends that bore witness to his skill and power in stone carving wereenough.

Parviz Tanavoli

2928

9

Standing Lovers with Bird 2009

BronzeEdition 1/5

Signed and dated32.5 x 18 x 13 cm

8

Lovers XIII 2009

BronzeEdition 1/5

Signed and dated32.5 x 14.5 x 10.5 cm


11

Horizontal Lovers I 2009

BronzeEdition 1/520 x 36 x 14 cm

10Horizontal Lovers II 2010

BronzeNumber 1/5

17 x 24 x 11 cm

3130

12

Lovers X 2009

BronzeUniqueSigned and dated51 x 20 x 20 cm


3332

13

Lovers XV 2010

Bronze UniqueSigned and dated27.5 x 14 x 10 cm

Collection: Manijeh Collection, Vancouver

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Lovers XVI 2011

BronzeUniqueSigned and dated34.5 x 14 x 10 cm

3534

16

Lovers II 2007from the Wonders of Creation series

Tempera on old manuscript paper30.5 x 21.5 cm

15

Lovers I 2009from the Wonders of Creation series


17

Lovers III 2009from the Wonders of Creation series


3736

18

Three Lovers 1974


Signed, numbered and dated50 x 70 cm

Exhibited: Litho Gallery, Tehran, 1974 Zand Gallery, Tehran, 1978

19

Lovers 1999from the Wonders of Creation series

Tempera on old manuscript paper21 x 19 cm

38

From the late fifties I began using the hand in my works. At the time,the utensils and objects in shrines and holy places had a great impacton me and many of them turned into the raw materials of my works.

.......two hands holding each other, were a minimal interpretation ofmy lovers.

Parviz Tanavoli

Hand on Hand I 2000

BronzeUnique 51 x 25 x 12.5 cm

Collection: Museum of Parviz Tanavoli, Tehran

Literature: Nina Chickocki et.al. Parviz Tanavoli: Pioneers of Iranian Modern Art, Tehran 2003, p. 57

Parviz Tanavoli, Alireza Sami-Azar, Kamran Diba, Siah Armajani, Shiva Balaghi, Tandis Tanavoli, Gisela Fock, Samar Faruqi, Charles Pocock, Parviz TanavoliMonograph, Dubai, 2010, illus. p.403

21

Hand on Hand II 2003

BronzeNumber 2/6

Signed and dated25 x 25 x 16 cm


Literature: Parviz Tanavoli, Alireza Sami-Azar, Kamran Diba, Siah Armajani, Shiva Balaghi, Tandis Tanavoli, Gisela Fock, Samar Faruqi, Charles Pocock, Parviz Tanavoli Monograph, Dubai, 2010, illus. p. 407

20

Hands of the Mountain Carver II 2007

BronzeEdition 2/6

Signed and dated 20.5 x 35 x 18 cm



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Monument to Simorgh (Legendary Bird) 1975

BronzeUnique 285 x 152 x 337 cm

Collection: Half-Chenar Park, Tehran

Exhibited: Neue Galerie / Samlung Ludwig, Aachen, 1978

Literature: David Galloway, ed. Parviz Tanavoli: Scupltor, Writer & Collector, Tehran 2000, p. 223, pl. 193

Parviz Tanavoli, Alireza Sami-Azar, Kamran Diba, Siah Armajani, Shiva Balaghi, Tandis Tanavoli, Gisela Fock, Samar Faruqi, Charles Pocock, Parviz Tanavoli Monograph, Dubai, 2010, illus. p. 389

In seven thousand years of Persian art, if we search for an enduring iconicimage we may not find a better one than the image of the bird......

Could it be that the amalgamation of bird shapes with daily objects reducestheir terrestria l weight and provides them with a heavenly association?

Parviz Tanavoli

4544

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Two Birds 2006

RakuUnique28 x 40 x 20 cm



Sarah, B. Sherrill, ed. Ceramics, Tehran, 2010, p. 85

22

Fallen Bird 1999




Sarah, B. Sherrill, ed. Ceramics, Tehran, 2010, p. 76

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The Birds and Cage 2009

Pencil and tempera on paperSigned and dated lower left23 x 30 cm

4746

27

Nightingale 1974



Exhibited: Litho Gallery, Tehran, 1974 Zand Gallery, Tehran, 1978

26

Man and Bird in Cage 2001

Tempera on printed lithograph paperSigned and dated lower left21.5 x 15.5 cm

25

Boys and Lock-Bird 2001

Tempera on printed lithograph paperSigned and dated lower left21.5 x 15.5 cm

48

My acquaintance with the lion goes back to the end of the sixties andearly seventies. At the time, destiny placed a few lion rugs in my path.The stunning beauty of these rugs and their fascinating designs andcolors immediately conquered my heart.

Parviz Tanavoli

Lion’s Head 2001


Collection: Museum of Parviz Tanavoli, Tehran

Literature: David Galloway, ed. Parviz tanavoli: Sculptor, Writer & Collector, Tehran, 2002, p.254

Parviz Tanavoli, Alireza Sami-Azar, Kamran Diba, Siah Armajani, Shiva Balaghi, Tandis Tanavoli, Gisela Fock, Samar Faruqi, Charles Pocock, Parviz TanavoliMonograph, Dubai, 2010, illus. p.441

5150

29

Lion and Sord 2005



28

Lion II 2005

Raku16 x 24 x 10 cm


30

Two Lions 2005

Ink, gouache on old manuscript paper Signed and dated lower left16 x 11 cm

5352

31

Lion and the Sun 1977

All wool, Kurdish Wave, BijarUnique212 x 170 cm

Note: Three different variations exist

54

The Walls of Iran 1975

BronzeUnique 218 x 190 x 50 cm

Collection: Museum of Modern Art, Vienna

Exhibited Neue Galerie: Samlung Ludwig, Aachen, 1978 Samlung Ludwig Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna, 1979 Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art: Pioneers of Iranian Modern Art, Tehran, 2003

Literature: Hermann Fillitz et.al., Wien Samlung Ludwig Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna 1979, (under Tanavoli, npn)

Ellen H. Johnson, David Galloway, Richard Ettinghause, Sarah Sherrill, Parviz Tanavoli Fifteen Years Of Bronze Sculpture, Grey Art Gallery, New York, 1977, pl. 95, 96

Parviz Tanavoli, Alireza Sami-Azar, Kamran Diba, Siah Armajani, Shiva Balaghi, Tandis Tanavoli, Gisela Fock, Samar Faruqi, Charles Pocock, Parviz Tanavoli Monograph, Dubai, 2010, illus. p. 323

Every time an Iranian builds a house or garden, he surrounds it with awall; every rug that she weaves carries a wall-like border around theperiphery. What mystery lay concealed behind these borders and walls Idid not know.

Parviz Tanavoli

56

32

Wall and Birds II 2009

BronzeEdition 3/5


58

34

Wall and Locks 2007

BronzeEdition 1/3


33

A Study for Walls 2006

Pencil on paperSigned and dated lower left30 x 23 cm

60

35

Man and Monument 1999From the Wonders of Creation series

Tempera on old lithograph paper21.5 x 15.5 cm

36

The Wall and Letters sa, ta, fa 2011

BronzeUniqueSigned and dated 25.5 x 16.5 x 10.5 cm

37

The Wall and the Script III 2008

BronzeEdition 3/5



64

Heech 1972

BronzeUnique56.5 x 30.5 x 20.5 cm

Collection: Grey Art Gallery, New York University, New York

Literature: Ellen H. Johnson, David Galloway, Richard Ettinghause, Sarah Sherrill, Parviz Tanavoli Fifteen Years Of Bronze Sculpture, Grey Art Gallery, New York, 1977, p. 67

Parviz Tanavoli, Alireza Sami-Azar, Kamran Diba, Siah Armajani, Shiva Balaghi, Tandis Tanavoli, Gisela Fock, Samar Faruqi, Maryam Massoudi, Charles Pocock, Parviz Tanavoli Monograph, Dubai, 2010, illus. p. 251

Sina Royaee, Morteza Ghomshei, Shiva Balaghi, Works of Parviz Tanavoli Heech, Iran, 2010, illus. p.37

Not long after I completed my academic studies I decided to free my

mind from all my acquired knowledge. Agitation and anxiety filled my

days. I was in search of something that could not be found

At last, one day I found the shape I was searching for. This shape was

devoid of all that I had previously known. It had a slender figure,

supple and sinuous, the eyes overflowing with meaning; but there

were no other features on the face. To this figure, I gave the name

“heech” (nothingness) and upon its form I bestowed my heart.

Parviz Tanavoli

39

Horizontal Heech Lovers 2008

BronzeEditioin 1/6

Signed & dated53 x 72 x 43 cm

Exhibited: Dubai, Meem Gallery, Parviz Tanavoli and Abbas Kiarostami, 2009-2010Tehran, 10Gallery, Works of Parviz Tanavoli Heech, 2011

Literature: Parviz Tanavoli, Alireza Sami-Azar, Kamran Diba, Siah Armajani, Shiva Balaghi, Tandis Tanavoli, Gisela Fock, Samar Faruqi, Maryam Massoudi, Charles Pocock, Parviz Tanavoli Monograph, Dubai, 2010, illus. p. 319

Sina Royaee, Morteza Ghomshei, Shiva Balaghi, Works of Parviz Tanavoli Heech, Iran, 2010, illus. p. 43

38

Heech Lovers II 2007

BronzeEdition 2/6



Literature: Sina Royaee, Morteza Ghomshei, Shiva Balaghi, Works of Parviz Tanavoli Heech, Iran, 2010, illus. p.42

68

40

Heech and Cage V 2006

BronzeEdition 6/6


Exhibited: Dubai, Meem Gallery, Parviz Tanavoli and Abbas Kiarostami, 2009-2010

Literature: Parviz Tanavoli, Alireza Sami-Azar, Kamran Diba, Siah Armajani, Shiva Balaghi, Tandis Tanavoli, Gisela Fock, Samar Faruqi, Maryam Massoudi, Charles Pocock, Parviz TanavoliMonograph, Dubai, 2010, illus. p. 307


The light that pours in through these slots gives the space an air ofsacredness.

Parviz Tanavoli

7170

43

Heech and Frame 2007

BronzeEdition 4/6

Signed and dated12 x 12.5 x 14 cm

Exhibited: Dubai, Meem Gallery, Parviz Tanavoli and Abbas Kiarostami, 2009-2010

Literature: Parviz Tanavoli, Alireza Sami-Azar, Kamran Diba, Siah Armajani, Shiva Balaghi, Tandis Tanavoli, Gisela Fock, Samar Faruqi, Maryam Massoudi, Charles Pocock, Parviz TanavoliMonograph, Dubai, 2010, illus. p. 269


41

Small Heech V 2002

BronzeEdition 33/50

Signed and dated13 x 7 x 4.5 cm

Exhibited: Tehran, 10Gallery, Works of Parviz Tanavoli Heech, 2011

42

Twisted Heech 2007

BronzeEdition 4/10

Signed and dated13 x 7 x 4.5 cm


Literature: Parviz Tanavoli, Alireza Sami-Azar, Kamran Diba, Siah Armajani, Shiva Balaghi, Tandis Tanavoli, Gisela Fock, Samar Faruqi, Maryam Massoudi, Charles Pocock, Parviz TanavoliMonograph, Dubai, 2010, illus. p.290


46

Bracelet for MonaLisa 2010

BronzeEdition 3/5




44

Heech and Chair VIII 2009

BronzeEdition 2/5

Signed and dated14.5 x 11.53 x 4 cm



45

Heech and Chair VII 2007

BronzeEdition 2/5

Signed and dated26.5 x 17 x 11 cm



7372

49

Standing Heech Lovers 2007

BronzeEdition 2/6





48

Heech on Chair and Heech in Cage 2009

Tempera on old lithograph paperSigned and dated lower right21.5 x 15.5 cm


47

Heech Lovers 2008

Tempera on old manuscript paperSigned and dated21.5 x 15 cm


74

Purple Heech 2001

FiberglassEdition 2/6


Collection: Quatar National Museum, Doha



What seems to exist in the universe, my not exist;What does not seem to exist in the universe, may exist

Omar Khayyam

7776

Big Red Heech 2001



Collection: The British Museum, London

Literature: Venetia Porter, Word into Art: Artists of Modern Middle East, Dubai, 2006, p. 58

Parviz Tanavoli, Alireza Sami-Azar, Kamran Diba, Siah Armajani, Shiva Balaghi, Tandis Tanavoli, Gisela Fock, Samar Faruqi, Maryam Massoudi, Charles Pocock, Parviz Tanavoli Monograph, Dubai, 2010, illus. p. 477


78

51

Heech and Chair VIII 2009





8180

54

Black Heech Lovers II 2007




53

Standing Heech IV 2007




52

Standing Heech IV 2007




S o l o E x h i b i t i o n s

2011 Austin / Desmond Fine Art, London2009 Meem Gallery, Dubai2006 Elliott Louis Gallery, Vancouver, Canada2003 Retrospective, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art1989 Rudolf Mangisch Galerie, Zurich1988 Hirschberg Galerie, Cologne

Galerie am Rosenberg, Graz 1986 Bessim Gallery, Vienna1980 Galleria Greminger, Genoa 1978 Aachen Neue Galerie/Samlung Ludwig, Aachen

Zand Gallery, Tehran 1976 Grey Art Gallery, New York University, New York

Iran-America Society, Tehran1973 Iran-America Society, Tehran1972 Goethe Institute, Tehran 1971 Martin Gallery, Minneapolis 1970 Iran-America Society, Tehran

Shiraz University, ShirazIran-America Society, Isfahan

1969 Iran-America Society (with Karl Schlamminger), Tehran1967 Seihoun Gallery, Tehran 1966 Italian Cultural Institute (with Monir Farmanfarmaian), Tehran1965 Borghese Gallery, Tehran 1963 Minnetanka Center of Arts and Education, Minneapolis

Minneapolis Institute of Arts, MinneapolisK. B. Gallery, Minneapolis

1962 Premiere Gallery, Minneapolis1961 Atelier Kaboud, Tehran 1960 Farhang Hall, Tehran

Iran Club, London 1958 Reza Abbassi Hall, Tehran1957 Tehran University (with Manuchehr Shaybani)

Farhang Hall, Tehran

S e l e c t e d G r o u p E x h i b i t i o n s

2009 Art Dubai, Waterhouse & Dodd Gallery stand, Dubai2008 Art Paris, Waterhouse & Dodd Gallery stand, Abu-Dhabi Routes,

Waterhouse & Dodd Gallery, London Word into Art, BritishMuseum, Dubai International Financial Center, Dubai

2006 British Museum, London2004 Persian Garden (installation), Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art

Armenian National Museum, Yerevan2002 Iranian Contemporary Art, Christie’s, London Picturing Iran: Art,

Society and Revolution, Grey Art Gallery, New York University2001 Iranian Contemporary Art, Barbican Center, London 2000 Continental Shift, Aachen, Maastricht, Heerlen, and Liege

7th International Shoebox Sculpture, University of Hawaii ArtGallery

1999 Atrium Public Gallery, Vancouver 1989 Contemporary Art from the Islamic World, Barbican Centre,

London1988 Olympiad of Art, Seoul, 1977 Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art 1975 Grey Art Gallery, New York University1967 Quadriennale of Rome Shiraz Festival

Goethe Institute, Tehran 1964 32nd Venice Biennale1962 Musee d’Art Moderne, Paris Musee d’Ixelles, Brussels

Third International Biennale of Sculpture, Carrara Walker ArtCenter, Minneapolis Saderat Bank, Tehran 2nd Tehran Biennial(won Royal Awards for painting and sculpture) New Delhi andBombay

1960 30th Venice Biennale1959 Carrara Sculpture Biennale Paris Biennial

Paris BiennaleGallery Re Magi, Milan

1958 29th Venice Biennale1st Tehran Biennial (won sculpture prize)

Parviz Tanavoli is an Iranian sculptor now residing in Canada. He

was born in 1937 in Tehran where he remained until he graduated

from Tehran’s School of Fine Arts in 1955. He then travelled to Italy

where he continued his studies in Carrera and Milan. He later

worked in Milan under Italian sculptor Marino Marini.

Upon graduating from the Brera Academy of Milan in 1959, he

returned to Iran and won the Royal Awards in the 2nd Tehran

Biennale in 1960. In the same year he founded his first studio, the

Atelier Kaboud, which acted as both a studio space for him to

work in as well as an exhibition space for him and other

contemporaries.

Tanavoli taught sculpture for three years at the Minneapolis

College of Art and Design. He then returned to Iran and assumed

the directorship of the sculpture department at the University of

Tehran, a position he held for 18 years until 1979, when he retired

from teaching.

He has held solo exhibitions in Iran, Europe, Dubai, United

States and Canada and participated in numerous biennales and

group exhibitions including: Contemporary Art from the Islamic

World, Barbican Centre, London, 1989; Continental Shift,

Museums of Aachen, Maastricht, Heerlen and Liege, 2000;

Picturing Iran: Art, Society and Revolution, Grey Art Gallery, New

York, 2002 and Word into Art, British Museum, London, 2006.

His works are housed in international private and public

collections, including The British Museum, London; Grey Art

Gallery, New York University Collection; Hamline University, St.

Paul, Minnesota; Esfahan City Center; Museum of Modern Art,

New York; Nelson Rockefeller Collection, New York; Museum of

Modern Art, Vienna; Olympic Park, Seoul; DIFC, Dubai and Royal

Society of Fine Arts, Amman.

P u b l i c C o l l e c t i o n s

AustriaMuseum of Modern Art, Vienna(Wien Samlung Ludwig Museum Moderner Kunst)

GermanyForum Ludwig, Aachen

JordanRoyal Museum of Jordan

IranIsfahan City Center Mellat Park, TehranSculpture Garden of Khaneh-ye Honarmandan (The Artists’ Home), TehranShiraz University Campus Mellat Park, TehranThe City Theater, Tehran Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran

South KoreaOlympic Park, Seoul

UAE International Financial Center (DIFC), DubaiQatar National Museum, Doha

UK British Museum, LondonNoor Foundation, London

USA Grey Art Gallery, New York University, New YorkHamline University, St. Paul, MinnesotaMinneapolis Institute of Arts, MinnesotaMuseum of Modern Art, New YorkNelson Rockefeller Collection, New YorkSt. John University, Collegeville, MinnesotaUniversity Art Museum, Iowa Walker Art Center, Minneapolis

Parviz TanavoliB i o g r a p h y

84

Aust in / Desmond F ine Art

Pied Bull Yard 68/69 Great Russell StreetBloomsbury London WC1B 3BN

tel: +44 (0)20 7242 [email protected]

www.austindesmond.com

This catalogue is published to accompany Parviz Tanavoli - Poet InLove solo-exhbition at Austin / Desmond Fine Art, London.

Acknowledgements

With very many thanks to Parviz Tanavoli & his family for all theirhelp in preparing this catalogue and to all those who have assistedwith the preparation of this catalogue.

Photographs of the artist and studioPhotograph of the artist © Parviz Tanavoli Studio Photography by Tandis Tanavoli and Houman Meshkati

Catalogue

Author: Setareh MeshkatiProofreading: Emily Austin, Alexander Cum Ewing, Yasamine KojouriDesign: Houman and Setareh Meshkati Print: Butler Tanner & Dennis Fine Art Services

Works © Parviz Tanavoli Foreword © Dr David GallowayEssay © Saeb Eigner, Isabelle CausseCatalogue © Austin / Desmond Fine Art 2011

Photograhy Credits

Courtesy of the British Museum, London: 77Courtesy of Grey Art Gallery, New York University, New York: 24, 65Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art, Vienna: 55 Mehdi Dorkhah: 16-17 John Gordon: 67Matthew Lazarus: 18-19, 40-41, 66, 69-71, 73, 79, 81Mahmoud Mahroumi: 71Amir Mo’ebed: 74Davoud Sadeqsa: 4, 15, 43Parviz Tanavoli: 2, 9, 20-21, 23, 25, 27, 28-29, 32-37, 44-47, 49-53, 57-61, 70, 72, 80Tandis Tanavoli: 9, 10, 83Joachim Waibel: 39Shelly Woldorski: 62-62

ISBN 978-1-872926-35-3

A catalogue record for this catalogue is available from the British Library.

All rights reserved. Not part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any formor by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,recording or any other information storage or retrieval systemwithout prior permission in writing from Austin / Desmond Fine Art.

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