Farhad Moshiri (born 1963 in

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...

) is an Iranian artist currently based in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

. His art work is rooted in Pop art dialect with a subtle, subversive socio-political commentary.

Biography

Moshiri studied fine arts at

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

in Valencia,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, in the 1980s, where he first started experimenting with installations, video art and painting. He received his MFA from California Institute of the Arts in 1984, before moving back to Tehran in 1991. He subsequently became well known for his ironic interpretations of hybrids between traditional Iranian forms and those of the consumerist and globalized popular culture widespread in his country. In the early 2000s, Moshiri was most readily associated with his paintings of jars, which are decorated with traditional Iranian sayings and poetic verse, written in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

calligraphy. These monumental containers have been described as receptacles of life, memory and desire, and reflect his fascination with archaeology. His painted jars, which form a trademark of his production, look like three-dimensional objects, bursting with popular foods, drinks and desserts, with popular scripts elegantly written on their body. Other significant works include ''Stereo Surround Sofa'' (2004), ''Silver Portrait on Red'' (2004), ''Diamond Brain'' (2004-5) and ''A Dream in Tehran'' (2007). Moshiri is also interested in the repetition of numbers and letters in scripts for their intrinsic beauty as opposed to any literal meaning or sense they might hold In ''Kennedy’s Salt and Pepper Shaker'', from 2005, he presents the instantly recognizable Kennedy couple in the form of salt and pepper shakers. His work is held in several public collections, including the

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, or VMFA, is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia, United States, which opened in 1936. The museum is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the su ...

, Richmond, the Farjam Collection,

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, and the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, London. He is represented by The Third Line gallery in Dubai, Galerie

Emmanuel Perrotin Emmanuel Perrotin (born in May 1968 in Montreuil) is the French contemporary art gallery owner of Galerie Perrotin. Early life and education Emmanuel Perrotin is the son of Michel Perrotin, a bank employee, and Odile Pradinas, a stay-at-home moth ...

in Paris, New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong, Rodolphe Janssen in Brussels, and Thaddeus Ropac in Salzburg and London.

Bibliography

* Dina Nasser-Khadivi, Maryam Ekhtiar, ''Farhard Moshiri'',

Skira The festival of the Skira ( grc, Σκίρα) or Skirophoria ( grc, Σκιροφόρια) in the calendar of ancient Athens, closely associated with the Thesmophoria, marked the dissolution of the old year in May/June. Description At Athens, t ...

, Milan, 2016. . * Michele Robecchi, ''Farhad Moshiri'', Perrotin Editions, Paris, 2012. * Oliver Wick and

Jérôme Sans Jérôme Sans (born 1960) is a director of contemporary arts institutions, critic and curator, based in Paris. Jérôme Sans, born on 2 August 1960 in Paris, is a French artistic director, director of contemporary art institutions, art critic, and ...

, ''Farhad Moshiri'', The Third Line, Janssen, Perrotin Editions and Ropac, 2010.

Biography

Bibliography

References

See also