Parviz Tanavoli Poet in Love

Home , David Galloway (writer), Parviz Tanavoli

1970s-2011 Works from the Artist ’s Collection Parviz Tanavoli Poet in Love

Austin / Desmond Fine Art Pied Bull Yard 68/69 Great Russell St Bloomsbury London WC1B 3BN Telephone: + 44 (0)20 7242 4443 Email: gallery @austindesmond .com Web : ww w.austindesmond .com

1 The Global Vision of Parviz Tanavoli Dr David Galloway

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, Parviz Tanavoli, Minneapolis Studio 1961 2 Tanavoli and I were collaborating on an exhibition for the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art to be 3 entitled “Useful Objects,” for which we had begun to acquire artifacts at the bazaars in Tehran, Shiraz right hand cut off. The saqqakhaneh itself thus bears historic and religious connotations but represents, and Isfahan. These would have been presented like artworks on pedestals and in showcases, above all, the universal, life-giving properties of water itself. underscoring their inherent beauty and encouraging pride in such vernacular objects, which were increasingly threatened by anonymous, mass-manufactured goods. 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 Such was the sensibility that informed the course taken by Parviz Tanavoli, who returned to Iran in of holy men but also a common feature of desert architecture, provides a powerful graphic element that 1959 with the praise of Marino Marini and Henry Moore still ringing in his years. In rapid succession he frequently appears in Tanavoli’s paintings and prints, as well as his sculptures. This complex but deeply established his own Atelier Kaboud on Pahlavi Avenue, which became a vital meeting place for young poetic metaphor, in itself a kind of manifesto, was central to the indigenous movement that was artists and the scene of groundbreaking exhibitions; began to teach sculpture at the new College of germinated at the Atelier Kaboud. It is illuminating to know something about the religious and cultural Decorative Arts, of which he was a founding member; represented Iran at the Venice Biennial; background of this first contemporary art movement in the Islamic world, which drew on sources that may established the influential movement known as the Saqqakhaneh School; and made the acquaintance of well seem exotic to the Western viewer. In this context, it is also instructive to explore the sources for the courageous American collector Abby Grey, who would introduce him to an American audience. Tanavoli’s recurrent use of the caged bird, the fallen man, the wall or the ubiquitous figure known as Meanwhile, he was increasingly working in metal and would ultimately create the sole foundry in the heech, since all are firmly rooted in an ancient culture of great beauty. On the other hand, such detailed Middle East for the production of art and train assistants in the craft. Like Marini, however, his knowledge is by no means essential to an appreciation of the work itself, which is rich in information but engagement as a sculptor did not dim his enthusiasm for painting. As though his duties as teacher, artist free of all didacticism. Tanavoli’s idiom moves far beyond the anthropological or folkloristic to assert what and sometime-gallerist were not enough, Tanavoli was becoming increasingly active as a collector (of I described in an earlier essay as “the universal particular.” 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. 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

Saqqakhaneh 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 Literally speaking, the saqqakhaneh or “house of the water bearer” is a public fountain, typically fed by cultures – usually located close to wells or springs - or in the padlocks fastened to a protective grill on a cistern set into a wall and protected by a metal grill. Such sources not only provided drinking water Cologne’s Hohenzollern Bridge by young lovers who throw the keys into the Rhine. Thought to have for passersby but also functioned as neighborhood meeting places. In more elaborate versions, the originated in China, the tradition has sparked love-lock movements from Prague to Moscow, Florence to water was contained in a large, Tel Aviv. In Montevideo locks are attached, as in the ancient Persian tradition, to a fountain. Plainly, then, cylindrical brass tank, often the particular customs evoked by the saqqakhaneh touch on issues of yearning, devotion and fidelity that elaborately decorated and with know no boundaries. While reflecting in detail on a Persian heritage, they simultaneously strike a universal three domes on top – the central chord that emanates from the execution of an artist’s vision and not, simply, from his sources. and largest of them crowned by an upraised hand of flat brass, perforated with a calligraphic Farhad the Mountain Carver design. The symbolism alludes to the Battle of Karbala, in which In addition to the existential issues affecting all artists who were trained in the West and then returned to Abbas, the brother of Husayn, the traditional cultures, Parviz Tanavoli was confronted by the absence of a sculptural legacy. Or so it seemed third Shiite Imam, attempts to at first glance. Even taking into consideration the Acaemenian bas-reliefs and statues left behind in the bring water to his thirsty people by remains of Zoroastrian temples, there are no surviving sculptural relics comparable to those of China or breaching the enemy lines to reach India. Furthermore, with the advent of Islam, sculptors had disappeared as a guild in Persia. It was his a nearby river. Determined to fill a fascination with popular arts and crafts that eventually showed Tanavoli a way out of this seeming vacuum, waterskin for the thirsty women for what might be thought of as the essence of sculpture had indeed found rich expression in the and children and the wounded articulated brickwork of mosques, in pottery and metalworking, in ornamental gratings, birdcages, jewelry Husayn, he is detected and his and Luristan bronzes. And there were convenient ruses, as well. As Tanavoli reflects today, “…in the guise

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

4 5 Tanavoli even as a child and that were attached to the grills of shrines and fountains were often crafted Heech in the form of animals. 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 Elsewhere, too, even the strict Islamic prohibition of figurative art could not banish the images of a global idiom. The striking form language he would develop over the course of a long and fruitful lions and birds that were so deeply entwined with Persian culture. A symbol of power and sovereignty, career included the lock, the hand, the cage, the bird and the lion, as well as Farhad the Mountain the lion had once watched over the temples of Anahita, the goddess of water. Even with the advent of Carver (sometimes identified as the hero or the poet). In addition to these icons, which have parallels in Islam, the lion remained a potent symbol, though now said to represent Ali, the first Shiite Imam. In the numerous other cultures and seem capable of endless variation, a curious figure emerged that is at once 1960s, shortly after his return from Italy, Tanavoli discovered the magnificent lion rugs that were still whimsical and deeply philosophical: the heech, which in Farsi designates nothingness. Tanavoli’s use of being created by simple tribal people. They would soon become the focus of one of his most important the figure was in part a reaction to the young artists who claimed membership in the Saqqakhaneh collections. (Thanks to these experiences, he would later prepare his own designs for carpets that were School merely by covering their canvases with calligraphy. Hence, in the artist’s own words, “I decided executed by traditional weavers.) Traveling through the Fars Mountains and Bakhtiari territory in search to foreswear calligraphy or, at most, to confine myself to a single written word. For a long while, I of them, he also encountered the powerful, often semi-abstracted shapes of stone lions that were place contemplated what this singular word should be, until finally heech suggested itself.” There were, as he on the tombs of heroes and warriors from the same areas where lion rugs were crafted. Thus, with a later learned, various artistic precedents for his choice within the traditions of Sufism, as well as certain singular mixture of passion and serendipity, Parviz Tanavoli prepared himself to don the mantle of the parallels to the Zen concept of “Mu” (which translates as emptiness or nothingness), for which a legendary Farhad the Mountain Carver – the only sculptor referred to in classical Persian poetry. 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. 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 Tanavoli himself has cited parallels to the monochrome canvases and “Cardboards” of Robert this tender-tragic love story. The triangular tale involves Farhad, a stonecutter, the Armenian princess Rauschenberg, but also to Andy Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup Cans” and his portraits of Marilyn Monroe. Shirin and Khosrow Parviz, one of the greatest of the Sassanian kings, who ruled prior to the Islamic “A decade after he had produced these works, Warhol himself referred to them as ‘the essence of conquest. As a rival for the hand of the beautiful princess, Farhad rose to the challenge of carving a nothing’.” Yet Tanavoli insists that his own nothingness was never tinged with the cynicism that often passage through Mount Bisotoon to open up the view from the palace. (In variations on the task, he accompanied Western art and philosophy. “Mine,” he insisted, “was the nothingness of hope and must carve steps from the cliffs or chip away the base until the mountain is suspended in air.) When he friendship, a nothingness that did not seek to negate. In my mind, it was not life that amounted to seemed to be succeeding, the king sent an old woman to Farhad with the false information that his nothing, but rather nothing that brimmed with life itself. Another feature that enhanced its appeal for beloved Shirin was dead. In Tanavoli’s exegesis of the story, “Distressed and heartbroken, Farhad fell me was the lovely proportionate shape of heech. Like the human figure, it was soft and pliable and from the mountain and died, thus bringing to an end the sculptural tradition. Some years later Islam could easily assume different positions such as reclining or sitting on a chair or leaning against a table.” 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 The first appearance of a heech in Tanavoli’s work was in an assemblage created in 1965 for a entire mountain for the love of Shirin; he was a sculptor par excellence.” 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

6 7 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

8 Parviz Tanavoli – A Personal Note Saeb Eigner 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.

P arviz'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.

Artists Studio, Tehran 2011 11 Preface & Acknowledgements

It has been an exciting experience putting together this exhibition, which includes Parviz Tanavoli’s carpet, CATAloGuE sculptures, works on paper and ceramics.

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 sought to integrate popular symbols of Shi'a culture in art, a spiritual Pop Art as it has been described. He has long been inspired by the word Heech meaning nothing - which he has created in numerous and ever more ambitious forms. It has been said that the word symbolizes for him both an ambivalence towards the past and a sense of meaningless or dissolution with an inadequate present. The letter forms are in the traditional Persian script nasta'liq while the cage alludes to the Saqqakhaneh itself, a ceremonial public structure constructed in memory of thirsty Shi'a martyrs at Kerbela which gave its name to the movement.

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

T his 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.

T he 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.

S pecial 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

12 Poet and the Nightingale’s Cage 1970

Bronze Unique Signed and dated 112 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 as a restless nightingale, is constantly agitated and impatient, pining for a nameless beloved who, though not entirely unattainable, is won only after tortuous ordeals.

Parviz Tanavoli

14 1

Poet and Bird 2009

Bronze Unique Signed and dated 115 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 Tanavoli Monograph , Dubai, 2010, illus. p.242 16 2 Poet turning into Heech 1973-2007

Bronze Edition 1/6 Signed and dated 228 x 70 x 58 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 18 Charles Pocock, Parviz Tanavoli Monograph , Dubai, 2010, illus. p.188 19 3 4 Poet Squeezing Lemon 1999 Head of Poet 2009

Pencil on paper Bronze Signed and dated Unique 30 x 23 cm 19 x 12 x 12 cm

Note: Three different variations exist

20 5 Poet and Chair II 2010

Bronze Edition 1/3 80 x 75 x 58 cm

22 6 7 Oh! Nightingale 1974 Poet Sqeezing Lemon I 1973

Silkscreen on paper Silkscreen on paper Edition 27/80 Edition 17/34 Signed, numbered and dated Signed, numbered and dated 70 x 50 cm 70 x 50 cm Exhibited: Litho Gallery, Tehran, 1974 Zand Gallery,Tehran, 1978 Exhibited: Litho Gallery, Tehran, 1974 Zand Gallery, Tehran, 1978

24 25 Lovers VII 1990

Bronze Unique Signed and dated 130 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 to another is hard to accept. But among the Sufis it is a common task. In the history of the Sufis in Iran, there are numerous examples of the love of a disciple to master (morid and morad). Through words and poems the nostalgia and agitation of the disciple in the absence of his master is expressed.

I clung to Farhad, the Mountain Carver and made of him an ideal hero for myself. -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. It bothered me little that nothing of his work was left to posterity. The legends that bore witness to his skill and power in stone carving were enough.

Parviz Tanavoli

26 8 10 Lovers XIII 2009 Horizontal Lovers II 2010

Bronze Bronze Edition 1/5 Number 1/5 Signed and dated 17 x 24 x 11 cm 32.5 x 14.5 x 10.5 cm

9 11

Standing Lovers with Bird 2009 Horizontal Lovers I 2009

Bronze Bronze Edition 1/5 Edition 1/5 Signed and dated 20 x 36 x 14 cm 32.5 x 18 x 13 cm

28 29 12

Lovers X 2009

Bronze Unique Signed and dated 51 x 20 x 20 cm

30 31 13 14

Lovers XV 2010 Lovers XVI 2011

Bronze Bronze Unique Unique Signed and dated Signed and dated 27.5 x 14 x 10 cm 32 34.5 x 14 x 10 cm 33 Collection: Manijeh Collection, Vancouver 15 Lovers I 2009 from the Wonders of Creation series

Tempera on old manuscript paper 30.5 x 21.5 cm

16 17 Lovers II 2007 Lovers III 2009 from the Wonders of Creation series from the Wonders of Creation series

Tempera on old manuscript paper Tempera on old manuscript paper 30.5 x 21.5 cm 21.5 x 15.5 cm

34 35 18 19

Three Lovers 1974 Lovers 1999 from the Wonders of Creation series Silkscreen on paper Edition 17/33 Tempera on old manuscript paper Signed, numbered and dated 21 x 19 cm 50 x 70 cm

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

36 37 Hand on Hand I 2000

Bronze Unique 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 Tanavoli Monograph , Dubai, 2010, illus. p.403

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 impact on me and many of them turned into the raw materials of my works.

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

Parviz Tanavoli

38 20 21

Hands of the Mountain Carver II 2007 Hand on Hand II 2003

Bronze Bronze Edition 2/6 Number 2/6 Signed and dated Signed and dated 20.5 x 35 x 18 cm 25 x 25 x 16 cm

Exhibited: Dubai, Meem Gallery, Parviz Tanavoli and Abbas Kiarostam i, 2009-2010, another example exhibited Abu Dhabi, Exhibited: Dubai, Meem Gallery, Parviz Tanavoli and Abbas Kiarostami , 2009-2010, another example exhibited Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Festival, Middle Eastern Modern Masters , 2010 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 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. 401 Faruqi, Charles Pocock, Parviz Tanavoli Monograph , Dubai, 2010, illus. p. 407 Monument to Simorgh (L egendary Bird) 1975

Bronze Unique 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 iconic image 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 reduces their terrestria l weight and provides them with a heavenly association?

Parviz Tanavoli

42 22

Fallen Bird 1999

Raku Unique 39 x 15 x 13 cm

Collection: Manijeh Collection, Vancouver

23 24

Two Birds 2006 The Birds and Cage 2009

Raku Pencil and tempera on paper Unique Signed and dated lower left 28 x 40 x 20 cm 23 x 30 cm

Collection: Manijeh Collection, Vancouver

Boys and Lock-Bird 2001

Tempera on printed lithograph paper Signed and dated lower left 21.5 x 15.5 cm

Man and Bird in Cage 2001

Tempera on printed lithograph paper Signed and dated lower left 21.5 x 15.5 cm

27 Nightingale 1974

Silkscreen on paper Edition 20/40 Signed, numbered and dated 50 x 70 cm

Exhibited: Litho Gallery, Tehran, 1974 Zand Gallery, Tehran, 1978 46 47 Lion’s Head 2001

Raku Unique 22 x 24 x 15 cm

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 Tanavoli Monograph , Dubai, 2010, illus. p. 441

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

Parviz Tanavoli

48 28

Lion II 2005

Raku 16 x 24 x 10 cm

29 30

Lion and Sord 2005 Two Lions 2005

Silkscreen on paper Ink, gouache on old manuscript paper Edition 17/80 Signed and dated lower left Signed, numbered and dated 16 x 11 cm 70 x 100 cm

50 51 31

Lion and the Sun 1977

All wool, Kurdish Wave, Bijar Unique 212 x 170 cm

52 53 Note: Three different variations exist The Walls of Iran 1975

Bronze Unique 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 a wall; every rug that she weaves carries a wall-like border around the periphery. What mystery lay concealed behind these borders and walls I did not know .

Parviz Tanavoli

54 32

Wall and Birds II 2009

Bronze Edition 3/5 Signed and dated 30 x 19 x 10 cm

56 33 34

A Study for Walls 2006 Wall and Locks 2007

Pencil on paper Bronze Signed and dated lower left Edition 1/3 30 x 23 cm Signed and dated 110 x 72 x 35 cm 58 35 36

Man and Monument 1999 The Wall and Letters sa, ta, fa 2011 From the Wonders of Creation series Bronze Tempera on old lithograph paper Unique 21.5 x 15.5 cm Signed and dated 25.5 x 16.5 x 10.5 cm

60 37

The Wall and the Script III 2008

Bronze Edition 3/5 Signed and dated 110 x 72 x 35 cm

Bronze Unique 56.5 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

64 38 39

Heech Lovers II 2007 Horizontal Heech Lovers 2008

Bronze Bronze Edition 2/6 Editioin 1/6 Signed and dated Signed & dated 32 x 18 x 15 cm 53 x 72 x 43 cm

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

Literature: Sina Royaee, Morteza Ghomshei, Shiva Balaghi, Works of Parviz Tanavoli Heech , Iran, 2010, illus. p.42 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 40

Heech and Cage V 2006

Bronze Edition 6/6 Signed and dated 32 x 18 x 15 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 Tanavoli Monograph , Dubai, 2010, illus. p. 307 Sina Royaee, Morteza Ghomshei, Shiva Balaghi, Works of Parviz Tanavoli Heech , Iran, 2010, illus. p. 63

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

Parviz Tanavoli

68 41 44

Small Heech V 2002 Heech and Chair VIII 2009

Bronze Bronze Edition 33/50 Edition 2/5 Signed and dated Signed and dated 13 x 7 x 4.5 cm 14.5 x 11.53 x 4 cm

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

Literature: Sina Royaee, Morteza Ghomshei, Shiva Balaghi, Works of Parviz Tanavoli Heech , Iran, 2010, illus. p.55

45 42 Heech and Chair VII 2007 Twisted Heech 2007 Bronze Bronze Edition 2/5 Edition 4/10 Signed and dated Signed and dated 26.5 x 17 x 11 cm 13 x 7 x 4.5 cm Exhibited: Tehran, 10Gallery, Works of Parviz Tanavoli Heech , 2011 Exhibited: Tehran, 10Gallery, Works of Parviz Tanavoli Heech , 2011 Literature: Sina Royaee, Morteza Ghomshei, Shiva Balaghi, Works of Parviz Literature: Parviz Tanavoli, Alireza Sami-Azar, Kamran Diba, Siah Armajani, Shiva Balaghi, Tandis Tanavoli Heech , Iran, 2010, illus. p.53 Tanavoli, Gisela Fock, Samar Faruqi, Maryam Massoudi, Charles Pocock, Parviz Tanavoli Monograph , Dubai, 2010, illus. p.290 Sina Royaee, Morteza Ghomshei, Shiva Balaghi, Works of Parviz Tanavoli Heech , Iran, 2010, illus. p. 45

43 46

Heech and Frame 2007 Bracelet for MonaLisa 2010

Bronze Bronze Edition 4/6 Edition 3/5 Signed and dated Signed and dated 12 x 12.5 x 14 cm 17 x 24 x 11 cm

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

Literature: Parviz Tanavoli, Alireza Sami-Azar, Kamran Diba, Siah Armajani, Shiva Balaghi, Tandis Literature: Sina Royaee, Morteza Ghomshei, Shiva Balaghi, Works of Parviz Tanavoli Heech , Iran, Tanavoli, Gisela Fock, Samar Faruqi, Maryam Massoudi, Charles Pocock, Parviz Tanavoli 2010, illus. p.75 Monograph , Dubai, 2010, illus. p. 269 Sina Royaee, Morteza Ghomshei, Shiva Balaghi, Works of Parviz Tanavoli Heech , Iran, 70 2010, illus. p. 49 71 47

Heech Lovers 2008

Tempera on old manuscript paper Signed and dated 21.5 x 15 cm

Literature : Sina Royaee, Morteza Ghomshei, Shiva Balaghi, Works of Parviz Tanavoli Heech , Iran, 2010, illus. p.26

48 49

Heech on Chair and Heech in Cage 2009 Standing Heech Lovers 2007

Tempera on old lithograph paper Bronze Signed and dated lower right Edition 2/6 21.5 x 15.5 cm Signed and dated 100 x 75 x 40 cm Collection: Manijeh Collection, Vancouver Exhibited: Dubai, Meem Gallery, Parviz Tanavoli and Abbas Kiarostami , 2009-2010 Tehran, 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. 315 72 Sina Royaee, Morteza Ghomshei, Shiva Balaghi, Works of Parviz Tanavoli Heech , Iran, 2010, illus. p.40 73

Purple Heech 2001

Fiberglass Edition 2/6 Signed and dated 290 x 190 x 175 cm

Collection: Quatar National Museum, Doha

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. 475 Sina Royaee, Morteza Ghomshei, Shiva Balaghi, Works of Parviz Tanavoli Heech , Iran, 2010, illus. p.87

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

Omar Khayyam

74 Big Red Heech 2001

Fiberglass Edition 1/3 Signed and dated 290 x 190 x 175 cm

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 Sina Royaee, Morteza Ghomshei, Shiva Balaghi, Works of Parviz Tanavoli Heech , Iran, 2010, illus. p.8

76 77 51

Heech and Chair VIII 2009

Fiberglass Edition 5/20 Signed and dated 195 x 75 x 50 cm

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

78 52

Standing Heech IV 2007

Fiberglass Edition 10/25 Signed and dated 59 x 34 x 22 cm

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

53 54

Standing Heech IV 2007 Black Heech Lovers II 2007

Fiberglass Fiberglass Edition 16/25 Edition 22/25 Signed and dated Signed and dated 59 x 34 x 22 cm 106 x 75 x 40 cm

80 Exhibited: Tehran, 10Gallery, Works of Parviz Tanavoli Heech , 2011 Exhibited: Tehran, 10Gallery, Works of Parviz Tanavoli Heech , 2011 81 Parviz Tanavoli Biography Solo Exhibitions Selected Group Exhibitions Public Collections

Parviz Tanavoli is an Iranian sculptor now residing in Canada. He 2011 Austin / Desmond Fine Art, London 2009 Art Dubai, Waterhouse & Dodd Gallery stand, Dubai Austria Museum of Modern Art, Vienna was born in 1937 in Tehran where he remained until he graduated 2009 Meem Gallery, Dubai 2008 Art Paris, Waterhouse & Dodd Gallery stand, Abu-Dhabi Routes, 2006 Elliott Louis Gallery, Vancouver, Canada Waterhouse & Dodd Gallery, London Word into Art, British (Wien Samlung Ludwig Museum Moderner Kunst) from Tehran’s School of Fine Arts in 1955. He then travelled to Italy 2003 Retrospective, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art Museum, Dubai International Financial Center, Dubai Germany where he continued his studies in Carrera and Milan. He later 1989 Rudolf Mangisch Galerie, Zurich 2006 British Museum, London Forum Ludwig, Aachen worked in Milan under Italian sculptor Marino Marini. 1988 Hirschberg Galerie, Cologne 2004 Persian Garden (installation), Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art Galerie am Rosenberg, Graz Armenian National Museum, Yerevan Jordan 1986 Bessim Gallery, Vienna 2002 Iranian Contemporary Art, Christie’s, London Picturing Iran: Art, Royal Museum of Jordan Upon graduating from the Brera Academy of Milan in 1959, he 1980 Galleria Greminger, Genoa Society and Revolution, Grey Art Gallery, New York University returned to Iran and won the Royal Awards in the 2nd Tehran 1978 Aachen Neue Galerie/Samlung Ludwig, Aachen 2001 Iranian Contemporary Art, Barbican Center, London Iran Zand Gallery, Tehran 2000 Continental Shift, Aachen, Maastricht, Heerlen, and Liège Isfahan City Center Mellat Park, Tehran Biennale in 1960. In the same year he founded his first studio, the 1976 Grey Art Gallery, New York University, New York 7th International Shoebox Sculpture, University of Hawaii Art Sculpture Garden of Khaneh-ye Honarmandan (The Artists’ Home), Tehran Shiraz University Campus Atelier Kaboud, which acted as both a studio space for him to Iran-America Society, Tehran Gallery Mellat Park, Tehran 1973 Iran-America Society, Tehran 1999 Atrium Public Gallery, Vancouver work in as well as an exhibition space for him and other The City Theater, Tehran 1972 Goethe Institute, Tehran 1989 Contemporary Art from the Islamic World, Barbican Centre, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran contemporaries. 1971 Martin Gallery, Minneapolis London 1970 Iran-America Society, Tehran 1988 Olympiad of Art, Seoul, South Korea Shiraz University, Shiraz 1977 Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art Olympic Park, Seoul Tanavoli taught sculpture for three years at the Minneapolis Iran-America Society, Isfahan 1975 Grey Art Gallery, New York University College of Art and Design. He then returned to Iran and assumed 1969 Iran-America Society (with Karl Schlamminger), Tehran 1967 Quadriennale of Rome Shiraz Festival UAE International Financial Center (DIFC), Dubai the directorship of the sculpture department at the University of 1967 Seihoun Gallery, Tehran Goethe Institute, Tehran Qatar National Museum, Doha 1966 Italian Cultural Institute (with Monir Farmanfarmaian), Tehran 1964 32nd Venice Biennale Tehran, a position he held for 18 years until 1979, when he retired 1965 Borghese Gallery, Tehran 1962 Muse e d’Art Moderne, Paris Muse e d’Ixelles, Brussels ́ ́ UK from teaching. 1963 Minnetanka Center of Arts and Education, Minneapolis Third International Biennale of Sculpture, Carrara Walker Art British Museum, London Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis Center, Minneapolis Saderat Bank, Tehran 2nd Tehran Biennial Noor Foundation, London K. B. Gallery, Minneapolis (won Royal Awards for painting and sculpture) New Delhi and H e has held solo exhibitions in Iran, Europe, Dubai, United 1962 Premiere Gallery, Minneapolis Bombay USA States and Canada and participated in numerous biennales and 1961 Atelier Kaboud, Tehran 1960 30th Venice Biennale Grey Art Gallery, New York University, New York 1960 Farhang Hall, Tehran 1959 Carrara Sculpture Biennale Paris Biennial Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota group exhibitions including: Contemporary Art from the Islamic Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota Iran Club, London Paris Biennale Museum of Modern Art, New York World , Barbican Centre, London, 1989; Continental Shift , 1958 Reza Abbassi Hall, Tehran Gallery Re Magi, Milan Nelson Rockefeller Collection, New York 1957 Tehran University (with Manuchehr Shaybani) Museums of Aachen, Maastricht, Heerlen and Liège , 2000; 1958 29th Venice Biennale St. John University, Collegeville, Minnesota Farhang Hall, Tehran 1st Tehran Biennial (won sculpture prize) University Art Museum, Iowa Picturing Iran: Art, Society and Revolution , Grey Art Gallery, New Walker Art Center, Minneapolis 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. Austin / Desmond Fine Art Pied Bull Yard 68/69 Great Russell Street Bloomsbury London WC1B 3BN tel: + 44 (0)20 7242 4443 [email protected] www.austindesmond.com

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

Acknowledgements With very many thanks to Parviz Tanavoli & his family for all their help in preparing this catalogue and to all those who have assisted with the preparation of this catalogue.

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

Catalogue Author: Setareh Meshkati Proofreading: Emily Austin, Alexander Cum Ewing, Yasamine Kojouri Design: Houman and Setareh Meshkati Print: Butler Tanner & Dennis Fine Art Services

Works © Parviz Tanavoli Foreword © Dr David Galloway Essay © Saeb Eigner, Isabelle Causse Catalogue © Austin / Desmond Fine Art 2011

Photograhy Credits

Courtesy of the British Museum, London: 77 Courtesy of Grey Art Gallery, New York University, New York: 24, 65 Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art, Vienna: 55 Mehdi Dorkhah: 16-17 John Gordon: 67 Matthew Lazarus: 18-19, 40-41, 66, 69-71, 73, 79, 81 Mahmoud Mahroumi: 71 Amir Mo’ebed: 74 Davoud Sadeqsa: 4, 15, 43 Parviz Tanavoli: 2, 9, 20-21, 23, 25, 27, 28-29, 32-37, 44-47, 49-53, 57-61, 70, 72, 80 Tandis Tanavoli: 9, 10, 83 Joachim Waibel: 39 Shelly 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 form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any other information storage or retrieval system without prior permission in writing from Austin / Desmond Fine Art.