I regard colors as the most wonderful possibility to depict anything, from life to a dream and whatever possible in these two realms.

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2 I regard colors as the most wonderful possibility to depict anything, from life to a dream and whatever possible in these two realms. On my canvases, you will see colors differently, from different angles, depending on where you stand and how you look, just like the beauties in life which all depend on your vantage point. Babak Rashvand

3 Babak Rashvand Night Souvenir Letters Series catalogue Texts Babak Rashvand Bahar Abdi Maria Migadi Editing Maria Migadi Layout Katerina Koutsopoulou Event Event organiser Bahar Abdi Curator Maria Migadi Duration of exhibition Tuesday 27 th October to Sunday 1 st November Sponsored by SMALL MEDIA Supported by gallery 8 8 Duke Street, St. James SW1Y 6BN

4 Cultural Signatures is dedicated to creating connections between businesses in the Middle East and Europe. We aspire to carry out cultural and charity activities. We believe that businesses will benefit from cultural and charity projects and vice versa. Whilst we have a small and focused team, our ambitions are high and we have a proven track record of delivering complex projects. We are pleased to bring Babak's amazing art work to London, a feat that was not possible without the support of our main sponsor: Small Media, which is an "Action Lab" helping the free flow of information and creative expression. SMALL MEDIA 6

5 The beauty in Babak Rashvand's paintings. Babak Rashvand might be called a Persian Calligraphy Painter, but he has his own style. Persian Calligraphy Painting was founded in early 1960s by Persian vanguard artists. This was a contemporary art movement widely referred to as "Saqakhaneh" (SAQQĀ-KĀNA). The term was first used in 1962 by Karim Emami ( ), who was an art critic, journalist, and lecturer at the Tehran College of Decorative Arts. "Saqakhaneh" is a term that was initially applied to the works of artists, both in painting and sculpture, which used already existing elements from votive Islamic art in their own modern work: symbols, visual elements, icons, pictograms, illustration, scripts and calligraphies only to mention a few. Gradually, the term has been applied to a wide variety of forms of modern Persian painting and sculpture, where the use of traditional decorative elements has been apparent. 1 However, how is Babak Rashvand a Persian Calligraphy Painter who develops his own style? Babak is an artist who has always derived pleasure from writing and reading. For, these activities embrace 1 org/articles/saqqa-kana-iischool-of-art 2 index.php/artist-statement lifetime feelings and purposes within the artist's existence: Love, Happiness, Silence, Sorrow, Depth... 2 It is noteworthy that the central meaning of Babak's artworks are the letters, which create the words that express the above feelings. However, his exceptional input in the so called Persian Calligraphy Painting is the elongation and the distortion of the letters, which become abstract forms. These could be seen as personifications of freedom and universality as by losing their standard format, letters become free from any connotations. There is no country of origin or a certain vocal sound reminiscent of Rashvand's artworks. On the contrary, the works can be seen as a dance and a homage to the eternal and universal language of music. As Nitsche said: "Without music, life would be a mistake", and " Those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music". Therefore, my wish is that we will all "listen" to Babak Rashvand's music and "dance" as we read this catalogue and while gazing at his amazing artworks during his first London solo exhibition. Maria Migadi Art Historian 8 9

6 1 Souvenir Series Tree of Letters acrylic on canvas 140 x 170 cm 10 11

7 2 Letters Series Qasideh 150 x 180 cm 12 13

8 3 Night Series Golden Night 150 x 150 cm 14

9 4 Night Series Calm Night I 140 x 140 cm 5 Night Series Calm Night II 140 x 140 cm 16 17

10 6 Souvenir Series Love 70 x 100 cm 18 19

11 7 Night Series Colorful Night acrylic on canvas 140 x 140 cm 20

12 8 Souvenir Series Stone acrylic on canvas 140 x 140 cm 22

13 9 Souvenir Series Jaan acrylic on canvas 150 x 150 cm 24

14 10 Letters Series Spring Letters 140 x 170 cm 26 27

15 Biography

16 Babak Rashvand Biography Babak Rashvand Biography Education Tehran University-Faculty of Fine Arts. Visual Communication, Master of Arts, September Awards, Festivals & Exhibitions Calligraphy Painting Solo Exhibition 8 Gallery, London, 28 Oct.. Islamic Arts Museum of Malaysia Collection, Kuala Lumpur-Malaysia. Fish & Coral, Painting Group Exhibition, Niavaran Artistic Creations Foundation, Tehran-Iran, 30 Apr. -15 May. MAGIC OF PERSIA, Nowrouz Auction Gala Benefit, Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Dubai, 21 Mar.. 3RD WEEK, Calligraphy Group Exhibition, Iranian Artists Forum, Tehran-Iran, 7-14 Nov Bonhams Auction London, Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art, London, 8 April Calligraphy Painting Solo Exhibition, Seyhoun Art Gallery, Tehran-Iran, 7-12 Mar Visual Arts Group Exhibition, Art Center, Tehran-Iran, 31 Jan. -18 Feb ALTERNATIVE CALLIGRAPHY 3, Calligraphy Group Exhibition, Homa Art Gallery, Tehran-Iran, 24 Jan.-4 Feb Calligraphy Group Exhibition & Workshop, Nicolas Flamel Art Gallery, Paris, Nov Visual Arts Group Exhibition, Mojdeh Art Gallery, Tehran-Iran, Oct Visual Arts Group Exhibition, Iranian Artists Forum, Tehran-Iran, Jul Visual Arts Group Exhibition, Art Center, Tehran-Iran, 21 Jun. -22 Jul Painting Group Exhibition, Shokouh Art Gallery, Tehran-Iran, 8-15 Mar This is my song..., Calligraphy Painting Solo Exhibition, Shokouh Art Gallery, Tehran-Iran, Feb The Beauty of Calligraphy, the Calligraphy Group Exhibition, Pro Art Gallery, Dubai, 28 Nov. -19 Dec th International Calligraphy Exhibition & Workshop, the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy, Sokolniki Exhibition and Convention Center, Moscow, 1 Nov. -15 Dec The first International European and Middle Eastern Art Auction/ Exhibition, Opera Gallery in collaboration with the Millon Auction House, Opera Gallery, Ritz-Carlton DIFC, Dubai, Oct VIENNAFAIR 2012 the New Contemporary (Art Fair), Present by Shirin Art Gallery, Messe Wien, Vienna, Sept Calligraphy Painting Group Exhibition, Shirin Art Gallery, Tehran-Iran, Sept Calligraphy Painting Solo Exhibition, Shokouh Art Gallery, Tehran-Iran, May The 9 th International Calligraphy Exhibition Burda Award, the UAE Ministry of Culture, Dubai, The 8 th International Calligraphy Exhibition Burda Award, the UAE Ministry of Culture, Dubai, Teaching; Graphics and Typography in Art College (University of Science and Culture), Tehran-Iran, International College Student Exhibition in the category of Calligraphy Painting, Tirana-Albania, First award at the 22 th National College Student Festival (The section of Typography), Tehran-Iran, Second award at National College Student Festival (The section of Calligraphy Painting), Tehran-Iran, First award at Falaq, National College Student Festival (The section of Poster), Tehran-Iran, Third award at the 21 th National College Student Festival (The section of Poster), Tehran-Iran, First award at the 13 th International Festival and Exhibition of Quran (The section of Calligraphy Painting), Tehran-Iran, Calligraphy Group Exhibition of Iranian AVANT-GARDE Calligraphers, Saba Art Center, Tehran-Iran, Sarmashq Book (Examples of Calligraphy), International Meeting of Calligraphy in the Islamic World (Catalog), Tehran-Iran, International Meeting of Calligraphy in the Islamic World (Exhibition), Ministry of culture and Islamic guidance, Tehran-Iran, Novel Illustration, Published in Revayate Marde Pir, Shabaviz Publisher, Tehran-Iran, Learning Calligraphy Book, Edition , Tehran-Iran, Third award at National College Student Festival (Graphics Knowledge), Sari-Iran, First award at the First National Festival of Graphics, Tehran-Iran,

17 List of artworks Souvenir Series Tree of Letters acrylic on canvas 140 x 170 cm Letters Series Qasideh 150 x 180 cm Souvenir Series Love 70 x 100 cm Night Series Colorful Night acrylic on canvas 140 x 140 cm Souvenir Series Stone acrylic on canvas 140 x 140 cm Night Series Golden Night 150 x 150 cm Night Series Calm Night I 140 x 140 cm Night Series Calm Night II 140 x 140 cm Souvenir Series Jaan acrylic on canvas 150 x 150 cm Letters Series Spring Letters 140 x 170 cm 32 33

18 Artist s Statement. Since childhood there were two inseparable things in my life and in every moment of it: reading and writing... in any mood or feeling, at times when I was filled with tranquility and solitude or at times when I was overwhelmed with joy and happiness... and in every moment of my life with its monotony, reading a poem or listening to one, became something like a daily necessity to me. At times even when I was not concentrated on it, the magic of words and sentences joined in an unconscious mood. These occurrences also happen when writing; in solitude, loneliness, tranquility, happiness and monotony I write. There are times when I am not looking for a certain word or text to scribe, I just follow my feelings and shape a word and picture it free from any bonds, in absolute freedom I tear down the usual arbitrary morphology of the words, at times, these free scribbling full of pathos and feelings give birth to the new shapes of the letters which shed colors from behind the light. So, don t look for a scripture to read, come and see forms from the moment that there was and passed by, and the feeling that followed. Maybe you would see a bit of sorrow, love, a song, a dance or a flight... I regard colors as the most wonderful possibility to depict anything from life to a dream and whatever possible in these two realms. On my canvases, you will see colors differently from different angles, depending on where you stand and how you look, just like the beauties in life which all depend on your vantage point and how you see them. Babak Rashvand Artist 34 35

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