By Syma Sayyah, Tehran
Parvaneh Etemadi
Without a
doubt Parvaneh Etemadi is Iran's leading lady artist and has been so for many
years. She is one of the rare artists in Iran I know who has been reinventing
herself over and over again throughout her career. I have loved the intensity
of her work, the great sense of beauty that I feel when I look at them and the
thoughts that rush into my mind trying to work out the message that this leading
artist is trying to convey to the viewer, because believe me she does.
Parvaneh
Etemadi is not only a great artist but an intellectual and well ahead of her
time which is why at times people do not understand her because she does not
speak their simple language and have the same frame of thought.
When we
went to Mah gallery a few days after the exhibition started (because we were
away that weekend) almost all the works were sold. How we envied the lucky
people who had bought these.
As I walked into the gallery I sensed the images
were interacting with me with their bright, happy and beautiful joyful colors
which gave me a feeling of tease and pleasure and as I moved through the large
gallery the reality past and present came into view. At all times my
senses and thoughts were busy trying to reach out, comprehend and capture their
meanings.
Parvaneh
Etemadi, like a true artist, challenges you and your intellect as her viewer.
She is one of a kind and in the words of Roya Monajem she is one of the most
remarkable contemporary Iranian painters, in her creative work, she has gone
through several periods. She is a truly contemporary artist and she is
familiar with her own space-time. She has taken part in many international
exhibitions and painting projects and her works have been auctioned by leading
art houses including
Christies.
In this new
exhibition at the Mah gallery not only did we enjoy her great collages but we
also watched a video installation she had made from her own images which was
fascinating.
I have seen
her paintings and her exquisite ceramic works and there are not that many people
who I can look up to so highly. I have known her for many years and admired and
respected her for much longer. I adore her work and think of her as a guru that
the rest of people will discover later when they are wiser and more
knowledgeable. Put simply, Parvaneh Etemadi is a unique artist and human
being. Many artists in Iran have been trained by Parvaneh and some have become
very successful including
Maryam Kazerouni,
Minoo Emami and
Fereshteh Setayesh
We love her
work and here are some pictures that the Mah gallery has kindly offered us to
share with you.
Happy 2010!!
See also:
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