The exhibition of Contemporary Iranian Calligraphy ‘Words Unveiled - Mots DÃ©voilÃ©s’ - Magazine

Endjavi-BarbÃ© Art Projects presents the exhibition of contemporary Iranian calligraphy by Alireza Astaneh, Mohamad Bozorgi, Habib Farajabadi, Abolfazi Shahi and Behrouz Zindashti. The exhibition will open at Grande-Rue 2, Geneva in Switzerland on November 22 and will run until December 16, 2012.

"Calligraphy, considered as the most beautiful of artistic expressions, was traditionally related to the depiction of beauty intrinsic to Creation. Some even attributed it to a divine origin. Moreover, in spite of the fact that it allowed a large freedom of form and infinite variations, it was an extremely codified art with strict and complicated rules, which needed to be mastered to achieve perfection, to some extent much like Western painting until the great rupture leading to modern art. The adoption of western-style modern art at the beginning of the 20th century lead, in Iran as well as elsewhere, to an initial abandonment of traditional modes of expression such as calligraphy. However, beginning in the sixties and since the development of the saqqa-khaneh movement which promoted reference to the modern art movements of other countries, this art has been resurrected in new forms. In fact, it is less the return to old styles than a contemporary re-interpretation and re-appropriation. It aims to create an aesthetic which speakes to modern tastes yet is still firmly anchored in history. This exhibition successfully demonstrates this evolution without ambiguity." (Silvia Naef, University of Geneva)