RugNotes: Parviz Tanavoli The Great Iranian Artist Among Near East Invitees to the British Museum

RugNotes: Sunday, June 12, 2005: "Sunday, June 12, 2005
Parviz Tanavoli The Great Iranian Sculpture Among Near East Invitees to the British Museum
CHN - News: "Iranian Sculpture Among Near East Invitees to the British Museum

The exact date of the exhibition is yet to be confirmed by the British Museum, but Tanavoli has already started preparing for the event.

Tehran, 12 June 2005 (CHN) – Sculptures of Parviz Tanavoli, one of Iran’s best-known sculptures, is among works invited to the British Museum for an exhibition of works by artists of the Near East since the emergence of Islam in the region up to this day.

The exact date of the exhibition is yet to be confirmed by the British Museum, but Tanavoli, who is the only artist alive presenting works in the exhibition, has already started preparing for the event.

“Using all my potentials, I have started to create works suitable for the exhibition. My sculptures are to be showcased along a collection of art works from one thousand years ago to this day, therefore, they should well represent the value of the works of the Iranian artists of the old days,” Tanavoli told CHN.

Born in 1937, the Iranian sculptor, painter, art historian and collector, Tanavoli graduated in 1956 in sculpting from the College of Fine Arts of Tehran University. He then left for Italy to continue his studies in sculpting in the Accademia di Belle Arti in Carrara (1956–7) and the Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan (1958–9), where he worked under Marino Marini. He furthermore took some sculpting courses in England. In the 1960s he contributed to the art movement in Iran known as SAQQAKHANA, and he made sculptures that were reminiscent of religious shrines and objects. Pairs of figures and fantastic birds were also common subjects. Themes from classical Persian literature also influenced him. He frequently rendered the word Hich (nothing) as a sculpture in calligraphic form, using the word on a small scale for rings and on a large scale for sculptures.

Tanavoli exhibited his work widely and received commissions from all over the world. He taught at art colleges and universities in Iran and the USA, retiring from his position of professor of sculpture at Tehran University in 1981. As an art historian he wrote books and articles on Iranian art, especially rugs and textiles."
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