Massoud Arabshahi (Persian:مسعود عربشاهی; 1935 – 2019), was an Iranianpainter, andbas-relief sculptor.[1][2][3] He was a leading member of theSaqqakhaneh movement,[4][5][6] and was known for his conceptual artwork. Arabshahi had worked in Tehran, Paris, and California.
Massoud Arabshahi was born in 1935 inTehran,Iran.[7][2] He attended the Public High School for Fine Arts in Tehran.[7] He studied painting underShokouh Riazi.
In 1968, he graduated from the College of Decorative Arts at Tehran University (nowUniversity of Art).
His sources of inspiration compriseAchaemenid andAssyrian art as well asBabylonian carvings and inscriptions. Combining tradition and modernity. Arabshahi held his first solo exhibition at the Iran-India Centre, Tehran, in 1964, four years before graduating from university.
Arabshahi work's was created in various mediums, including oil paint-on-canvas, architectural bas-reliefs, and other sculptures. Arabshahi's bas-reliefs were commissioned for the Office for Industry and Mining (1971), Tehran; and for the California Insurance Building (1985) inSanta Rosa, California, U.S..
Arabshahi played a pivotal role in the establishing the Iran Gallery (Persian:Talar-e Iran) in Tehran, founded in 1964 by Arabshahi,Mansoor Ghandriz, Rouin Pakbaz,Faramarz Pilaram,Sadegh Tabrizi, Mohammad-Reza Jodat, Ghobad Shiva, Sirus Malek, Farshid Mesghali, Parviz Mahallati,Morteza Momayez, and Hadi Hezareiy.[8] After the death of artist Mansoor Ghandriz in 1966, the Iran Gallery was renamed Ghandriz Gallery (Persian:Talar-e Ghandriz) in his honor; and it remained open until the summer of 1978 during theIranian revolution.[9]
