A Master Story-Teller

from historical Persian iconography to the compositions of archetypal Iranian miniatures & portraits

Ali Akbar Sadeghi is a climax figure in the context of Iranian Modern and Contemporary art. He has practiced in many artistic fields and has influenced many genres and artists. He is one of the most prolific and successful Iranian artists of his generation. Sadeghi has participated in over fifty solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally. His works have been featured in over eight volumes of monographs and are part of renowned museums around the world including British Museum and Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He has been sitting on the jury panels of over ten international biennials and has won numerous international awards for his outstanding animations and designs. In 2009, Sadeghi was recognized by the Ministry of Culture in Iran as an outstanding figure due to his lifetime contributions to Iranian art and culture.

Born in 1937, Sadeghi graduated from the Fine Art Department of Tehran University in 1969. Sadeghi showed a great passion for hand-made objects from his early school years using various tools in his father’s workshop and received his first painting commission in 1952. He became engaged with school performances and makeups and designed his school’s theatre hall. One year later he began working as an illustrator and title organizer for Asia Newspaper. In those years, he also worked as a graphic designer for a variety of Iranian magazines and companies and designed several movie posters. In 1967 he created a number of polyptych stained glass for Roudaki Hall at Talar Vahdat in Tehran.

In 1970 Ali Akbar Sadeghi was assigned by the Centre for the Intellectual Development of Children and the Youth (Kanoon) amongst the first group of artists who founded the Film and Animation department. In 1970 he was commissioned by an advertising agency to illustrate a book titled as the Hero of Champions which won the first prize in the category of Asia’s best illustrations. Between 1971 to 1977 he made seven animations including: Seven Cities, (1971, 18 min.); Flower Storm, (1972, 9 min.); Boasting, (1973, 11 min.); The Rook, (1974, 10 min.); The Sun King, (1975, 22 min.); Zal & Simorgh, (1977, 25 min.). In the meantime he worked on illustrating books such as Abdolrazagh Pahlavan and Be the Child of Your Time.

Demon The Limbo | 200*150 | 2018

In 1977 Sadeghi stopped making films altogether and devoted himself entirely to painting, beginning with a surrealistic edge. Sadeghi started his artistic career in the 1950s. Ever since has produced an abundant body of work exploring different possibilities and forms of representation from painting and drawings to assemblages and from book illustrations and graphic designs to animations. Sadeghi is amongst one of a few artists who remained faithful to the tradition of Persian Coffee-House paintings. Sadeghi’s extensive practice has established a contemporary approach to such tradition and transferred it to a different ground. His works have been exhibited internationally.

Some of this exhibitions include: solo shows at the Museum of Contemporary Arts, Tehran, 1988, and La Chaux-de-Fonds Art Gallery,Switzerland, 1988; as well as exhibitions at Noqreh Books, Seyhoun Art Gallery, Museum of Contemporary Arts, in Tehran 1990, Exports Development Center, Niavaran Cultural Center, (Painting exhibition in support of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina)1992, Tehran, Salau Palace, Bern,1996, Golestan Gallery, 2007, Tehran, Arts & Cultural Centre, 2009, Aran Gallery, 2011, Tehran, Doha Museum of Islamic Arts, 2013, Doha, Arasbaran Cultural Centre, 2014, Tehran, as well as numerous exhibitions at Sabz Gallery, Tehran from 1989 to 1992.

Sadeghi has won numerous awards including: Gold Medal from Tehran 7th International Festival of Films for Children and Young Adults, 1972, Honorable Mention from Tampere International Short Film Festival in Finland,1973, The Soviet Painters Association Award 1974, The Grand Prix of Lebanon Educational Films Festival 1974, Bronze Medal from Columbus Film Festival, 1975, Bronze Medal from Columbus Film Festival, 1975, Honorable Mention from International Animation Film Festival in New York, 1975, C.I.D.A.L.C; Gandhi Peace Prize at 24th International, Bronze Medal from C.I.D.A.L.C. Annual International Committee held in Paris,1974, Honorary Diploma for the best short film from Tehran 9th International Festival of Films for Children and Young Adults,1974, Honorary Diploma from Krakow 12th International Film Festival , 1974, Bronze Medal from Krakow 12th International Film Festival,1974, Gold Medal from the Virgin Islands International Film Festival,1975, Silver Medal from Chicago 11th International Film Festival,1975, Honorary Diploma from the Festival International de Court Metrage pour la Jeunesse, Paris, 1977, The Grand Prix from the Noma Concours for Children’s Picture . 83 Book Illustrations,1978, The Grand Prix from the Best Designed Books from All Over the World, The Grand Prix from the First Biennial of Iran Graphic Design Exhibition for book illustration, 1985, Honorable Mention from the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, 1989.

Ali Akbar Sadeghi’s work has raised interest of numerous critics, writers, and researchers and a number of books and essays have been published about his works including: Structural Particularities, Javad Mojabi and Noureddin Zarrinkelk, 1998, Collocation, Javad Mojabi, 2016, Alefba, Nader Ebrahimi,Philosophical Analysis on 50 Sketches of Ali Akbar Sadeghi, 1992, The Life, Love, Lost, Complete Works, 2015, Ashegh Nameh, 2014 edited by Ali Bakhtiari, to name a few.

Demon The Drummer | 200X150 | 2018