Ali Akbar Sadeghi

Born in 1937, Ali Akbar Sadeghi is a contemporary painter, animator, and illustrator who shows a surreal atmosphere in his works based on Iranian ghahveh-khaneh art. Ali Akbar Sadeghi's paintings reflect the cultural themes, legends, and myths of Persian poetry and art. They are included of traditional Iranian painting elements. This artist is known as one of the most prolific artists in the country, and in 2008 he entered the Iranian Science and Culture Hall of Fame.  

Ali Akbar Sadeghi was born in Tehran. He was interested in painting as a child and started working in various fields of art at a young age. During high school, he studied watercolor techniques from Avak Hayrapetian. Sadeghi spent some time preparing and painting handmade postcards with Aydin Aghdashloo. He studied painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tehran. Before entering university, Sadeghi often worked with watercolors, but he became acquainted with the oil painting technique at university. He also created works with stained glass techniques during his education, using a traditional approach and Iranian paintings. This artist has always been influenced by "Ferdowsi's Shahnameh" stories and has created many of his works by inspiring them. 

In 1958, Sadeghi, Nasrollah Afjei, and Mahmoud Basiri established the graphic workshop "Atelier Seven," which became a gathering place for artists such as Morteza Momayez, Abbas Kiarostami, Farshid Mesghali, Parviz Kalantari, etc. After graduating, he collaborated with the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults on several animation, film, and book illustration projects. This collaboration resulted in the success of Ali Akbar Sadeghi's illustrations and animations worldwide. The artist's works have repeatedly won international awards, including the gold plaque at the 7th International Festival of Films for Young in 1973, the silver plaque at the 11th Chicago International Film Festival, the first prize for Asian Illustrators (NOMA) in 1978, and an honorary diploma from Odense's 4th International Film Festival, Denmark in 1980. We can also name "Seven Cities," "Flowers storm," "The Rook," "Zaal and Simorgh," and "Coalition" as his most famous animations, which include historical and social themes. 

Since the early 1980s, Sadeghi has focused more on painting. He resumed his work with watercolor technique in 1987. He exhibited his works in several exhibitions, including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tehran, Seyhoun Gallery, Golestan Gallery, Niavaran Cultural Center, Aran Gallery, etc. In 1988, a solo show by Ali Akbar Sadeghi was held at the La Chaux de Fonds in Switzerland. Also, in 1989 he established the Green Gallery, formerly known as the Stained Glass Gallery. 

Ghahveh-khaneh paintings and the art of the Qajar period influence Ali Akbar Sadeghi's paintings in terms of color. On the other hand, the display of large scenes with many human figures painted in great detail has created an atmosphere similar to Persian miniature. His self-portraits are seen among the crowd in many of these paintings; it is as if the painter considered himself a part of the world he created. 

Among the most important collections of Ali Akbar Sadeghi's paintings are "Rebirth," " Camouflage," "Love and War," "Unwritten," "Lost in Fame," and "Retell"; Also "Coalition" is another important collection which was later animated with Alireza Kavian. 

In 2017, the show "A Retrospective" was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tehran in collaboration with the Ali Akbar Sadeghi Foundation, which presented a collection of the most important works of his six decades of artistic activity. The play, which included 200 works by Sadeghi, once again attracted the attention of art lovers to this artist. The Museum of Contemporary Art published the collection of the show in the book with the same name in the same year. 

A three-volume book has been published about the life and works of Ali Akbar Sadeghi; "Life" is the name of the first volume of this book series, which includes an overview of the artist's early works in various media, including stained glass, graphics, illustration, and animation. The second book is called "Love." It is a review of his paintings that began in the mid-seventies with the "Myth and Math" collection and lasted for more than 30 years. The book "Loss" also includes a collection of poems by Ali Akbar Sadeghi, created between 2005 and 2006. 

In recent years, many of Ali Akbar Sadeghi's paintings were exhibited by Shirin Gallery in Abu Dhabi Art in 2016, and by Dastan's Basement in Dubai art fair in 2019, and at the Singapore Biennale in 2020.