Statement:

Parallel Circuit presents "Drawings", a solo exhibition of works by Ghasem Hajizadeh, opening on 19 April 2024. The show will be on view until Friday, May 24, 2024.///

The show includes never-before-shown drawings of the revolutionary figure, Mirza Kuchik Khan (1880-1921), along with a selection of other drawings from multiple series of the artist’s work.

This is Hajizadeh's first exhibition at Parallel Circuit and one of the rare occasions that his work has been presented in Tehran in recent memory. This exhibition is concurrent with an exhibition of his paintings, “Fear and Desire” at O Gallery in Tehran.

Born in Lahijan, Gilan in 1947, Hajizadeh has remained a major figure in the Iranian art scene for the past five decades. He has continued to draw inspiration from Iranian cultural history despite living and working in Paris, France, for the best of the past four decades.

Encouraged by the famed and late cartoonist Ardeshir Mohassess (1938-2008), Hajizadeh moved from more abstract pieces to figurative works in the 1970s. 

It could be argued that through his drawings, Hajizadeh aims to form a broader and more conceptual perspective on contemporary Iranian history. His drawings at Parallel Circuit bring visitors closer to the spirit that governs the life of the Iranian diaspora to date.

Portrait drawings of Mirza Kuchak Khan, the revolutionary leader of the Jangal Movement (1915-1921), who demanded an end to central government corruption, an end to foreign interference in affairs of local peoples, and land reform, could be read as how many Iranians see political developments in their history. 

The earliest of Hajizadeh’s drawings in this exhibition, "Untitled" (1992), depicts the artist's hand in the act of drawing created in France, where he sought to come to grips with the realities of being far from home. Among other drawings, there are portraits of Sadegh Hedayat and scenes of everyday life in Iran.