A lady who never sat idle: Mokarrameh Ghanbari 1928-2005

TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (Mehr News Agency) -- Iranian instructor at the University of Columbia Sheyda Ardalan will be holding a workshop for self-educated painters on August 21 at Mokarrameh Qanbari's birthplace, the village of Darikandeh in Mazandaran Province.

Ms. Ardalan, who works in the Department of Arts and Humanities of the university in New York, will be leading the third workshop on Friday, Mokarrameh's son Ali Bolboli told the Persian service of Fars.

The late Mokarrameh Qanbari was a self-taught artist who began painting at the age of 63. Her works are remarkably similar to the paintings of Russian-born French surrealist Marc Chagall.

Bolboli said that Ardalan will be dedicating part of the workshop to the local stories depicted in Mokarrameh's series of paintings.

"She will select several of Mokarrameh's works and the participants will be instructed to either write stories or paint about them.

"Ardalan is planning to collect the works for display at Mokarrameh's house," Bolboli added. Her former residence was converted into a museum a few years ago.

"We prefer self-educated rural residents for the workshop, but there is no age limit. In previous workshops people aged 3 to 70 were seen among the attendees," he remarked.

Afterwards, a selection of the artworks will be put on display at Tehran's Dey Gallery opening on September 12. Displays of works from previous editions were also held in this galley, he mentioned.

Never having received any formal training in painting, Mokarrameh utilized bright and original colors inspired by the beautiful natural surroundings of her neighborhood, and within a few years her works were noticed by artists in Iran and overseas.

For the first time in 1995, her paintings were exhibited at Tehran's Seyhun Gallery, with follow-on exhibits in 1996, 1997, 1998, and 2005.

Mokarrameh was named "Female Painter of the Year 2001" by the Swedish National Museum of Fine Arts.

She died aged 77 on October 24, 2005 and is buried in the courtyard of her former home.
 

... Payvand News - 08/20/09 ... --