Visit Exhibition

Farhang Foundation is proud to partner
with the Vancover Art Gallery in presenting

PARVIZ TANAVOLI:

POET, LOCKS, CAGES

Now through Nov. 19, 2023

The first major presentation of the
internationally acclaimed artist’s work in Canada
will feature rare and highly regarded works.

Image Credit: Parviz Tanavoli in his Niavaran studio, Tehran, 1988, Photo: Courtesy of the Artist

“I would have loved to be a poet, but i am a sculptor. But my sculptures are a kind of poetry."

Parviz Tanavoli

This landmark exhibition marks the first major presentation of works by Iranian-born, Vancouver-based artist Parviz Tanavoli in Canada. Renowned for his unique ability to merge sculpture and poetry, Tanavoli's exhibition will captivate audiences and ignite a new appreciation for his extensive contributions to modern sculpture.

With more than 100 works spanning six decades of Tanavoli's career, Poets, Locks, Cages delves into the artist's exploration of the poet, the lock and the cage as recurring themes. The exhibition displays the full breadth of Tanavoli's artistic practice, focusing on sculpture while surveying painting, printmaking and mixed media. As one of the foremost contemporary Iranian artists and a member of the highly influential Saqqakhaneh school, Tanavoli draws inspiration from Iran's rich history and cultural traditions.

Parviz Tanavoli artwork, left to right: Persepolis #1, 1961, tempera on paper, Grey Art Gallery, New York University Art Collection, Gift of Abby Weed Grey. Poet and the Beloved of the King II, 1963, bronze, The Manijeh Collection. Farhad and I, 1973, oil on canvas, The Tanavoli Family Collection

Read the event Press Release

Read Javanan Magazine exhibit coverage

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Parviz Tanavoli was born in Tehran in 1937. Upon graduating from the Brera Academy of Milan in 1959, he taught sculpting at the Tehran College of Decorative Arts, and from 1961 - 1963 he thought at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. He then returned to Iran and assumed the head of sculpting department at the University of Tehran, a position he held for 18 years until 1979, when he retired from his teaching duties. Since 1989 he has lived and worked both in Tehran and Vancouver, Canada. He has had solo exhibitions at the West Vancouver Art Museum and the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. His work has been displayed at the British Museum - London, the Grey Art Gallery - New York University, the Isfahan City Center - Iran, Metropolitan Museum - New York, Minneapolis Institute of Art Minneapolis, Olympic Park - Seoul, S. Korea, Qatar National Museum, Royal Museum - Jordan, Royal Scottish Museum - UK, the Museum of Modern Art - Vienna, Museum of Modern Art - New York, Walker Art Center - Minneapolis, Shiraz University - Iran, Tate Modern - London and in numerous other prestigious venues around the world.

ABOUT THE GUEST CURATOR

Pantea Haghighi is an independent curator based in Vancouver. After achieving a degree in art history at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Haghighi undertook interdisciplinary graduate-level research at her alma mater, focusing on modernism and architecture. Her expertise in contemporary art has supported her contribution to community development at various Canadian institutions. Haghighi uses her experience collaborating with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds to bring communities together and create spaces that encourage discussion and the exchange of ideas. Her curatorial projects include Gohar Dashti: Dissonance, West Vancouver Art Museum, 2020; Looking at Persepolis: The Camera in Iran, 1850–1930, Polygon Gallery, North Vancouver, 2018; Modernism in Iran, Griffin Art Projects, North Vancouver, 2018; where/between, Equinox Gallery, Vancouver, and Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, 2016; Sanaz Mazinani: Mirrored Explosions, West Vancouver Art Museum, 2016; and Akbar Nazemi: Unsent Dispatches from the Iranian Revolution, 1978–1979, Presentation House Gallery, North Vancouver; Kenderdine Art Gallery, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon; and Windsor Art Gallery, Ontario, 2005.