Group Presentation | "8 Fair": Dastan's Basement

Dastan's Basement proudly announces its participation in "8Fair 2025 > Episode 01". This event will take place from October 31 to November 14, 2025 at 8cube Gallery, featuring works by Mohsen Alverdili, Sadra Baniasadi, Rana Dehghan, Mirmohamad Fatahi, Sepehr Hajiabadi, Shokoufeh Khoramroudi, Peyman Konjkav, Alishia Morassaei, Milad Mousavi, and Yashar Salahi at Dastan’s booth.

This exhibition is a homage to the memory of the late artist Ardeshir Mohassess (1938, Gilan – 2008, New York), who worked across drawing, caricature, and painting. A law graduate, Mohassess often addressed political and social subjects in his art. He was a distinctive artist who had equipped his simple and minimalistic visual expression with a sharp, biting humor. The poet Ahmad Shamloo has compared him to the 14th century pollitical satirist, Obeyd Zakani: “If Obeyd’s pen is a surgeon’s knife, so is Ardeshir’s – […] his figures are the familiar people of our society; they are us and our neighbors.” Mohassess’s caricatures were published in "Ketab-e Jom’e" magazine (edited by Ahmad Shamloo), "Kayhan Newspaper", and "The New York Times". The literary and art critic Javad Mojabi regarded him as “the founder of modern caricature” in Iran. His works have appeared in many exhibitions and in several books, including "With Ardeshir Mohassess and His Puppets" (1971), "Ardeshir and Stormy Weather" (1972), "Ceremonies" (1972), "Identity Card" (1972), "Momenten" (1973), "Current Events" (1973), and "Jahan-e No" (1973).

The works presented in this exhibition are selected based on their visual and conceptual affinity with Ardeshir Mohassess’s artistic universe: the formal simplicity of Mohsen Alverdili’s portraits, the presence of popular culture elements in Sadra Baniasadi’s works, the reflection of national identity in Sepehr Hajiabadi’s art, the narrative-driven ink drawings of Shokoufeh Khoramroudi, the childlike playfulness of Rana Dehghan, the existential bitterness of Yashar Salahi’s figures, the caricatural quality in Mirmohamad Fatahi’s pieces, the acerbic visual language of Peyman Konjkav, the subtle humor of Alishia Morassaei, and the engagement with social issues in Milad Mousavi’s works.