Ardeshir Mohassess | Fiac 2019: Paris, France

Dastan is pleased to announce its participation in Fiac 2019 in Paris with a presentation of works by Ardeshir Mohassess curated by Fereydoun Ave. The presentation will consist of a number of the artist’s drawings from the 1970s, and follows the extensive Ardeshir Project, which Dastan has been continuously pursuing. The gallery has previously compiled and published a bilingual (Farsi and English) book incorporating the results of three years of research into the life and work of the artist, which will also be included in the presentation.

The current presentation comes about 45 years after the Ardeshir Mohassess Retrospective in the Iran America Society (Tehran, Iran) where Fereydoun Ave was working as a designer and curator at the time. The retrospective was held at the peak of the artist’s career and recognition, during a time when many books of his drawings were being published and his work was receiving much international critical acclaim and coverage. As so, along with the selection of drawings, many of which were featured in the retrospective, the presentation will include several original publications on Ardeshir Mohassess from the 1970s.

Ardeshir Mohassess (b. 1938, Rasht—d. 2008, New York) was one of the most prolific, influential and internationally-renowned Iranian artists of the twentieth century. He graduated from the University of Tehran with a degree in Political Science in 1962 and soon became a full-time illustrator. Best known by his drawings, he was also one of the most important illustrators and cartoonists of his time, with his work published in many international and local newspapers and magazines including The New York Times, The Nation, Keyhan Hafteh, and Tehran Journal.

Looking at the careers of the artists who came after Ardeshir Mohassess, it is impossible to negate his deep influence on the traditions of drawing and figurative painting in Iran. Many contemporary Iranian artists find inspiration and insight in the life and work of Ardeshir. Ardeshir Mohassess’s career spanned over half a century, a century with decisive turns in Iran’s socio-political environment. Ardeshir’s work was published more than ten books during his lifetime, and shown in important shows at venues such as Musée d’Art Moderne, Asia Society Museum, and acquired by prestigious collections such as the Library of Congress and Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art.