NOW AND TEN

PROPERTY FROM
A PRIVATE COLLECTION, BOSTON
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SOHRAB SEPEHRI
(IRANIAN, 1928-1980)
Untitled
signed in Farsi (lower right)
oil on canvas
39¡ x 27Ωin. (100 x 70cm.)
Painted circa mid-1960s
US$80,000-120,000
AED300,000-440,000
PROVENANCE:
David Penn Collection.
A gift to the present owner’s great-grandparents in 1967,
thence by descent.
Enraptured by nature with a deep and profound attachment to the beauty
of his childhood home in the small city of Kashan, Iranian artist, poet and
intellectual Sohrab Sepehri is undoubtedly a key fgure in Modern Iranian Art,
inspiring a generation of artists with his homage to his deep rooted heritage
and untamed grace through the use of minimalism and partial abstraction
merging East with West.
A constant traveller, Sepehri lived in France, Italy and Japan, before fnally
re-settling in Tehran where he dedicated himself and his life to the arts. His
artistic style was principally infuenced by his time in Tokyo in the 1960s,
where he mastered the techniques of lithography and wood engraving.
Inspired by the Far Eastern traditional arts, particularly haikus, Sohrab Sepehri
painted dreamy images resembling calligraphy that are simultaneously
reminiscent of both the misty landscapes of Japanese hand-painted scrolls
and Persian literary sources, therefore fusing his myriad inspirations.
His majestic portrayals of semi-abstract groves of trees, with sweeping
boughs within minimalistic Impressionist landscapes achieve a timeless
reverie that captures the transcendent and mythical grandeur of nature and
the forests he was so fond of. Harbouring an undeniable mystical quality that
was without a doubt inspired by Suf philosophies, Sepehri’s works create a
richness of expression in purity and simplicity of form, colour and composition
that create a harmonious symbiosis between nature and civilisation. Sepehri
came to see that the purity of nature was an antidote to the corruption of the
human condition and thus in his oeuvre, characterised by a deep fascination of
nature, celebrates the tree as a symbol of compassion and stability in a world
corrupted by ignorance and malevolence. Thus, the tree became a symbol of
solace for the artist, in which he found a simplicity that would put him at ease,
refecting his introspection and state of mind.
Employing a minimalistic use of line, colour and tone, Sepehri’s timeless works,
of which the present painting is a delightful example, refect an elegance that
speaks of the miniature painting and Sufst ideals of Iranian heritage but
with a sensitivity that is a nod to the Zen philosophy that heavily inspired the
artist during his time in Japan. Exposed to the Japanese Haikus as well as the
paintings of Japan’s Masters Sesshu Toyo and Hakuin Ekaku, Sepehri thus
plays on the fattening of space and earth palette to create a composition
that is delicately textured and balanced in a thoughtful selection of angles
and cohesion of lines, that hints at a tranquil and dreamlike world while
simultaneously highlighting the artist’s eternal love for Persian calligraphy.
Stylistically, the present work is a scintillating example of the very palpable
sense of tension between naturalism and abstraction manifest in Sepehri’s
work. Sepehri was conceptually engaged by the universality of Zen painting, its
advocacy of tonal minimalism and its shedding of excess and detail in favour of
exploring true meaning through a process of eficient meditative brushstrokes,
however this was heavily tempered by his desire not to forsake the identity
of his surroundings. Ultimately, his attachment and love for his native home
would never grant abstraction a total victory and it is in this tension, that his
sincerity is most deeply revealed.
Deprived of superfuous details, the soft brushstrokes that Sepehri has
employed harmoniously come together to bring the painting to life. Suggestions
of green hint at the leaves gently blowing in the wind, while the passage of
bright blue hints at a babbling brook, the complex yet simple cohesion of the
pigments and washes layered upon one another hint at a serenity that washes
over the viewer. As such, undeniably a collector’s piece, the present work
ofers a captivating window into the spiritual heart and soul of the artist and
his beloved connection to the serenity he felt when in his revered hometown.
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