Lot 142: MASSOUD ARABSHAHI (IRANIAN, B. 1935) Untitled signed and dated in Farsi (lo

MASSOUD ARABSHAHI (IRANIAN, B. 1935) Untitled signed and dated in Farsi (lower left); signed in Farsi, signed and dated ‘Massoud Arabshahi 2008’ (on the reverse) oil on canvas 72 x 68¿in. (183 x 173cm.) Painted in 2008

PROVENANCE: Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner. Employing ancient symbols particularly from Ach 3/4 menid motifs, Assyrian and Babylonian rock carvings and Zoroastrian texts, which were occasionally fgurative in his early paintings, Iranian artist Massoud Arabshahi later incorporated abstraction into his compositions, of which the present lot is a captivating example. Indicating a more deliberate and thoughtful application of motifs resulting from careful studies of Persian and Islamic art history, his rich and varied palette of cross-hatched horizontal brushstrokes include subtle elements such as circles, squares, curves, spiral and mathematical signs, architectural plans, numbers and parabolic lines. Generally imbued with a cosmic spatial equilibrium, expressing movement and radiance, what is most striking about Arabshahi’s works is a kind of serenity fexibility and fuidity dependent on both form and colour. In the present work, Arabshahi’s earth-toned palette is a relfection of his respect for and inspiration of nature. Employing gestural brushstrokes that are interspersed with symbolic scratchings of signs, marks and elements throughout the canvas, which refect in some ways the passage of time. In his compositions, the circle represents the universe, in its wholeness and perfection. In Islamic art the circle represents the vaulted sky and divine light; the square manifests the earth and perfect stability. A square inside a circle or a circle inside a square represents a transformation of the spherical form of the sky on a rectangular Earth or vice versa. The cross manifests the centre of the world; a point where the earth and heaven meet; a cosmic axis. In Islam it signifes the union of all states of being, sublime identity and horizontal and vertical expansion. The vertical line is the celestial, spiritual, subjective, positive and active aspect, whereas the horizontal line demonstrates earthly, logical, passive and negative aspects. Application of these elements attaches a geometric sense to Arabshahi’s work, re-interpreting ancient symbols within a modern context. The arrows, scales, numbers, parabolic lines, hatching and graffiti in the present work beckons the mysterious spirit of ancient times into the dynamic world of today.