MOHAMMAD HOSSEIN MAHER

Mohamad Hossein Maher was born in Abadan, Iran, in 1957. Before he was admitted to Tehran’s College of Decorative Arts in 1975, he was the student of Shahab Moosavi, from whom he learned the principles of drawing. He furthered his knowledge of drawing and painting with prominent professors such as Hossein Kazemi and Bahman Boroojeni and started teaching at the same college after his graduation while he was studying for a graduate degree. Following the closure of all Iranian universities after the Cultural Revolution of 1980, he was unable to finish his degree. A few years later, after serving in the military, he left Iran to continue his studies in France. He returned to his homeland in 1986, immediately setting up an exhibition of his works that resulted from experiences in France.

Maher’s strong attachment to his hometown and the ancient ethnic beliefs and traditions of the Persian Gulf region inspired him to return to Abadan and portray its everyday life realistically. This, however, was not a romantic journey so much as an attempt to rid himself of the inevitable illusions of a modern metropolitan lifestyle. In depicting his surroundings, he discovered he needed a new language of expression, since he found an academic and realistic approach incompatible with the region’s intense sunlight, fast rhythms and bright, warm colors. Maher experimented with different techniques and styles, including those exhibited in the published works of Manichaeist art and the techniques and colors that ancient artists applied in their works. In this way, he eventually succeeded in adopting a form of painting that satisfied his pictorial requirements. He employed his newly found style in portraying the people to which he was so attached.

When an artist is overflowing with love for his or her hometown, even the smallest of events can inspire artistic creation. An artist like Maher can find the strength and glamour of myths and legends in normal people around him, and the stronger the motivation and inspiration, the more valuable the work. Yet Maher is not simply attempting to depict a way of life; he is also concerned with his paintings formal values. He uses dynamic lines to define his shapes but it is color that ultimately expresses the space and atmosphere in his paintings. Employing a wide range of bright colors, he often creates a symmetrical balance of strong, rhythmic color combinations as if he had viewed his concepts through a mental kaleidoscope.

Although the design and composition of Maher’s paintings are done meticulously, it is his colors that lead to coherent music and poetry in the images and forms he portrays. This is how Maher endeavours to go beyond the genre of folk painting and create modern works that penetrate deeper than the eye, finding visual forms for human dreams.

Solo Shows:

2014 - Monument, Ariana Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2012 - book city,tehran iran

2010 - Sin Gallery,Tehran, iran

2010 - Etemad Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2008 - Assar Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2007 - Assar Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2007 - Aftab Atelier, Tehran, Iran

2006 - Sureh Art Gallery, Isfahan, Iran

2002 - Iranian Artists’ Forum, Tehran, Iran

2002 - Kavir Gallery, Rafsanjan, Iran

2000 - Cultural Center, Köln, Germany

1999 - Aria Gallery, Tehran, Iran

1999 - Cultural Center, Köln, Germany

1998 - Fereshteh Gallery, Tehran, Iran

1996 - Seyhoun Art Gellery, Tehran, Iran

1995 - Privet Show ((Hemassi Atelier)), Review of the works, (A Restrospective), Tehran, Iran

1995 - Seyhoun Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran

1993 - Boulet Art Gallery, Bonn, Germany

1993 - Cultural Center, Köln, Germany

1992 - Seyhoun Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran

1991 - Talar Naqsh Gallery, Rasht, Iran

1991 - Seyhoun Art Gallery, Palm Patterns (as Palm), Tehran, Iran

1990 Seyhoun Art Gallery, MonoPrint, Tehran, Iran

1988 - Seyhoun Art Gallery, Still Life and Composition, Tehran, Iran

1978 - Investigative Works, Faculty of Decorative Arts, Tehran, Iran

Group Shows:

2013 - Mah gallery

2013 - Aria gallery

2012 - Niavaran cultural center

2012 - Mohsen art gallery Tehran Iran

2012 - Seyhoun gallery Thran Iran

2011 - Business school auction London Engeland

2010 - Iranian Artist` Forum Tehran Iran

2009 - Asar Art Gallery Tehran Iran

2007 - Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France

2007 - Assar Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2007 - Nar Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2007 - Khak Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2005 - Homa Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2005 - Hoor Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2004 - Depot Square Gallery, Boston, USA

2004 - Sa’ad Abad Gallery, “Angels”, Tehran, Iran

2004 - Assar Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2003 - Bahman Cultural Center, Tehran, Iran

2003 - Laleh Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2003 - Niavaran Cultural Center, the Impact of the Nature on the Works of Artists, Tehran, Iran

2003 - Niavaran Cultural Center, Iran – Land of Peace, Tehran, Iran

2003 - Painting Biennial, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art

2002 - Bernack Gallery, Worpswede, Germany

2002 - Zurich /Switzerland-6Messe fur Kunst Kongresshaus, (Art International)

2002 - 1st Drawing Biennial, Tehran Museum of Contemporary

2002 - Arasbaran Cultural Center, Dokhtaran-e-Yas, Tehran, Iran

2001 - Exhibition Persian Gardens, in 22 States of the USA

2001 - Singuatur Gallery Two Thousand and One Night, Germany

2001 - Art Expo, Berne, Switzerland (by Aria Gallery)

2000 - Art Expo, New York, USA (by Aria Gallery)