Lot 97: MASSOUD ARABSHAHI (IRANIAN, B. 1935) Untitled signed and dated ‘Massoud Ara

MASSOUD ARABSHAHI (IRANIAN, B. 1935) Untitled signed and dated ‘Massoud Arabshahi 2014’ (lower left); signed in Farsi, signed and dated ‘2014 Massoud Arabshahi’ (on the reverse) oil, metallic paint, string and mixed media on canvas 78 3/4 x 74 7/8 in. (200 x 190cm.) Executed in 2014

PROVENANCE: Private collection, Tehran (acquired directly from the artist). Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2013. The Iranian artist Massoud Arabshahi is celebrated for his unprecedented use of symbolism, appropriated from Zoroastrian images and motifs, which he combines with older archetypes to create abstract compositions. His refexive ambitious and large scale works take the form of monumental architectural decoration experimenting extensively with embossing and materials such as copper, ceramics, silver and gold. The present work, subtly combines symbols of past and present. Arabshahi’s monumental composition questions language as the sole means of expression; many of symbols he uses, are juxtaposed with geometrical symbols such as circles, squares, curves and spirals. With a use of gestural vocabulary and freedom of brushwork, these shapes carry great meaning in Arabshahi’s oeuvre. The circle is the symbol of the universe in its whole and original perfection. In Islamic art, it represents the vaulted sky and divine light. The square evokes 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. In Islam, these symbols often signify the union of all states of being, sublime identity and horizontal and vertical expansion. The vertical line is the embodiment of celestial, spiritual, subjective, positive and active feature, whereas the horizontal line demonstrates earthly, logical, passive and negative aspects. Massoud Arabshahi combines his search for meaning and direction in today’s art world with his continuous urge to question the beliefs and symbols of ancient Persia’s iconology and visual vocabulary. His work is unique and rare, as are his ideas and outtake on what the Middle East historically encompasses. The present work, a magnifcent and timeless composition, is one of Arabshahi’s most striking works.