Berlin to exhibit Vafaei coffee house paintings
Germany will mount an exhibition of Ferdowsi-inspired artworks by Iranian coffee house painter Mansour Vafaei in the city of Berlin.
The event will display 28 paintings depicting scenes from the epic Persian poet Ferdowsi's masterpiece Shahnameh.
Coffee house painting is a form of traditional Iranian art, which flourished during the Constitutional Revolution to satisfy popular beliefs and the people's need to glorify and revive their religious figures and national heroes.
‘A selection of 28 large paintings, measuring 2x1 meters, will be showcased in a Berlin gallery,’ Tehran Times quoted Vafaei as saying.
‘The works narrate different 'Shahnameh' stories, including Rustam and Sohrab.’
Sponsored by Iran's Ferdowsi Foundation, the exhibition will be held during Nowruz (Persian New Year) beginning on March 21.
The works were all created over the past six years, combining traditional coffee house painting with modern surrealism.
‘Coffee house painting is usually used to depict epic stories and these types of tales generally have some surrealistic features,’ Vafaei said
Iranian Coffee house paintings mostly depict national myths and legends as well as Qur’an stories.
Vafaei is on the Ferdowsi Foundation's board of trustees and is considered one of the last remaining coffee house painters in Iran
Vafaei has created numerous artworks for various cultural centers and organizations including Iran's Academy of Fine Arts and the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.
Source: presstv.com
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