“I liked the paintings on display at the festival such as the collection of paintings with the embossed patterns. I believe they enjoy high creativity,” Tayyebeh Imani, an art student who was visiting the exhibition, told the Tehran Times on Wednesday.

“I also liked the calligraphy works on show but I believe the calligraphic paintings are more attractive and innovative,” she stated.

Fatemeh Gerami, an artist who is participating in the festival with her Persian miniature named “Day and Night”, agreed that the displayed paintings are also the highlight of the exhibit.

“I am a graduate of art in the field of miniature, however, I believe the paintings are very good and creative,” she said.

She also noted that she believes some of the miniature works being shown are worth much more than their asking prices at the exhibit.

“The delicacy and time-consuming work of miniature is worth more than the price asked for some works. But perhaps the artists have chosen such low prices for their works,” she added.

A section dedicated to collections of photos on the recent floods in the provinces of Sistan-Baluchestan and Khuzestan is another highlight of the festival.

Photos by Mohammad Abbasi, Keivan Jafari, Pejman Molai and Mohammad Ahangar depict the hardship the people of the regions have been through in the floods. 

Life still goes on in some of the photos, while desperate moments and moments of hope are spotlighted here and there in the photos.

The organizers have also paid tribute to the people killed in the unintentional downing of the Ukrainian plane by Iran in January in an installation set. The organizers have also dedicated a hall to displaying artworks on Quds Force commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad.

A painting created by Hassan Ruholamin in memory of Soleimani is on display besides a bust under construction by sculptor Abbas Barzegar and a painting in process by Ali Lavai. The works will be completed before the end of the festival.

A selection of 900 works have been put on view in different sections of painting, photo, sculpture, calligraphy, miniature, illustration, cartoon, graphic design and new media.

Almost 450 works by about 340 artists are competing for the Golden Tooba at the festival. For the first time, the artworks are offered for sale.

“Chaharsu-ye Honar”, a new section dedicated to displaying works from galleries in Tehran and other cities, also offers the artworks for sale.

Charkhaneh is the other section of the festival, which discusses the art of photography in other provinces.

The festival will be running until February 24 at the institute located on Mozaffar St., near the intersection of Taleqani and Vali-e Asr Ave.

Source: Tehran Times