.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Alongside his Trees series, Sohrab Sepehri's abstract compositions are among his most distinctive series and comprise only around ten to twelve pieces, mostly kept at public institutions, including the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, The Fine Arts Museum at the Saadat Abad Complex, the former Private Secretariat of Queen Farah Pahlavi, and the former Private Television Network of Iran.
The works in this series share many characteristics, but one stands out from the rest and that is harmony. The next element that is plain to the eye is the cohesion of the oblique colour lines, painted either next to or apart from one another, and set in a plain dark background, thus creating geometric and rational segments, unseen in Sepehri's other paintings. The sensible selection of angles and cohesion of lines in the Abstract series eventually resulted in the creation of his well-known tree-trunks series, inspired by a very rational yet abstract aura for recreating a very realistic tone well depicted in the close-up of the trees.
Each piece of Sepehri's Abstract series includes between five and eight coloured lines, a restriction the artist imposes on himself perhaps as a personal challenge. Sepehri's artistry in creating a bare, explicit and lucid tone is evident in this series and denotes a rather rational musical experience following his poetic period. Sohrab Sepehri was a constant traveler, and perhaps through his many artistic encounters, he became familiar with the Russian master of abstract art, Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), whose lyrical compositions were inspired by elements of music.
This series reveals a new approach to clearly defined forms and flat colour, and was an intellectual experience in organizing pictorial space, which led to the later trees period. A thoughtful and perfectionist artist, throughout his career, Sohrab Sepehri experimented with various styles, yet he maintained his line of thought and the essence of his own personal style. The present work is arguably the greatest example by the artist from his Abstract series.
The works in this series share many characteristics, but one stands out from the rest and that is harmony. The next element that is plain to the eye is the cohesion of the oblique colour lines, painted either next to or apart from one another, and set in a plain dark background, thus creating geometric and rational segments, unseen in Sepehri's other paintings. The sensible selection of angles and cohesion of lines in the Abstract series eventually resulted in the creation of his well-known tree-trunks series, inspired by a very rational yet abstract aura for recreating a very realistic tone well depicted in the close-up of the trees.
Each piece of Sepehri's Abstract series includes between five and eight coloured lines, a restriction the artist imposes on himself perhaps as a personal challenge. Sepehri's artistry in creating a bare, explicit and lucid tone is evident in this series and denotes a rather rational musical experience following his poetic period. Sohrab Sepehri was a constant traveler, and perhaps through his many artistic encounters, he became familiar with the Russian master of abstract art, Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), whose lyrical compositions were inspired by elements of music.
This series reveals a new approach to clearly defined forms and flat colour, and was an intellectual experience in organizing pictorial space, which led to the later trees period. A thoughtful and perfectionist artist, throughout his career, Sohrab Sepehri experimented with various styles, yet he maintained his line of thought and the essence of his own personal style. The present work is arguably the greatest example by the artist from his Abstract series.