BRIEF REVIEW OF LIFE & WORKS
Bahram Dabiri was born in the city of Shiraz, Iran in the year of the Tiger, 1950, under the sign of Sagittarius, whose symbol, the Centaur with bow and arrow, figure greatly in his works. Gazing at the bas-reliefs and sculptures on the walls of nearby Persopolis and the splendid inscription on the Naqsheh Rustam Monument, are amongst the artist's treasured childhood memories. At the age of twelve, without encouragement or tutelage but strictly on his own, Dabiri started his career in what he likes to call "The Paintings".
In 1966, his family moved from Shiraz to Tehran, the capital of Iran, and two years later, he held his first professional exhibition at the Sepid Gallery.
Mr. Ali Reza Nourizadeh, journalist, poet, and critic, in a review in Ferdowsi Magazine wrote:
On Tuesday the 29th of September, the young painter Bahram Dabiri held his first exhibition at the Sepid Gallery. This is the first exhibition of this young twenty-year-old who comes from Shiraz. The painter is interested in somber colors and the atmosphere of his paintings are all indicative of closeness and suffocation whilst, in places, they show open horizons. However they still portray a lone human being. You are saddened…there is no window towards the sun.
In 1970 he was accepted into the Fine Arts Department of Tehran University, and he was greatly influenced by the works of Bosch and Bruegel, the Elder. He studied under Hannibal Alkhas, Behjat Sadr, Parviz Tanavoli, and Rouin Pakbaz.
In 1973 he met and married a fellow student, namely Simin Ekrami, who was studying sculpture. It was in this period that he became acquainted with Mexican Frescos and his professional works can be said to start at this time. These works which start during his university days and continue for a few years thereafter, he refers to as his "Romance" period. They are mostly romantic and surrealistic paintings in oil, with vivid flash colorings, which, at one and the same time, reflect both his dreams and nightmares. The works contain lines and nude bodies, his two obsessions in this period, which kept him working night and day, for long and endless hours.
In 1975 he exhibits a collection of works from this period at the Goethe Institute in Tehran. The contemporary Iranian Poet M. Azad commented on the works exhibited as follows:
The meaning of Dabiri's works, whilst in themselves imaginary and fantastic at the same time also represent death in a nightmarish fashion. Corpses that he places in dirt; representations of skulls, those harbingers of dreadful fear; love; and the amorous flight of men and women; these are all a nightmare-like newspaper clippings from universal oppression Dabiri's blue colors bring to mind rich poetry, the sound of flowing water, and the gentle caress I have observed love in them. His nightmares are those of empathy. He possesses a festival of colors, faces, bodies and fantastic tales. I wish him better and more in his life. I wish him health for he is a great blessing.
In 1975 he holds another exhibition from the same period at the Sayhoon Gallery. The distinguished Iranian playwright and author, Dr. Gholam Hossein Saedi, commented about this exhibition:
Each painting is a composition of different frames and pictures which are each independent subjects in their own right and, as such, could be the subject of a larger canvas all on their own. The main element in his works is mankind. This is why some of his works are morose, like the portrayal of the birth of an old skeleton with man acting as midwife, while some works are extraordinarily humorous. He portrays the horrors of our times.
1976- Drawings, Group Exhibition, Naghsh Gallery, Tehran
1976- Paintings, Group Exhibition, Derici Gallery, Shiraz
1977- Dabiri enters compulsory military service
1978- Paintings, Tehran Gallery
This period coincides with the onset of revolution and turmoil in Iran. Greatly influenced by social emotions, he worked on 'larger than life' canvases, in an effort to try to capture the tremendous upheavals occurring around him in Iran. His canvases are full of historic and social messages addressed to the Iranian nation as a whole.
1980- Paintings, Reopening Exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Arts, Tehran.
In this year, he exhibits one large canvas at the political office of "The Freedom Movement of the Iranian People"
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1980- Holds a live painting exhibition in front of people at the Bagh Ferdows,
Tehran
1981- Exhibits a large canvas in connection with the War and Revolution,
Museum of Contemporary Arts, Tehran
1981- Commissioned Works, Mural Painting, Khazaneh Bus Terminal, Tehran
Exhibition of five canvases "The Freemasons" at Iranian Writers & Artists Assembly, Tehran
Paintings, Exhibition on Tour, Southern Caspian Coast, Iran
1982- Paintings, Museum of Contemporary Arts, Tehran
Paintings, Group Exhibition, Iranian Writers and Artists Assembly, Tehran
In 1983, Behjat Omid, an art critic in the sixth edition of the periodical Council of Iranian Artists and Writers, comments:
The use of color in Dabiri's paintings is exceptional. Every bright and happy color speaks of a sun within, and each dark and somber color resembles the darkness of a mid-winters night.
The works of this period were criticized in the Mardom newspaper as well as Donya magazine, both mouthpieces of the Tudeh (communist) Political Party.
At this time Dabiri returns to his private atelier and commences what he terms his third period of works, namely "Enlightenment".
1984- Paintings, Still Life Studio Exhibition, Artist's workshop, Tehran
1984- Paintings, Landscape Studio Exhibition, Artist's workshop, Tehran
1985- Paintings & Drawings, Mythological studies Exhibition, Artist's workshop,
Tehran.
At this time, Mr. Faraj Sarkouhi, chief editor of the Adineh Magazine, in the third issue of the magazine comments:
In Dabiri's small works we can observe a special shimmering complete with Persian calligraphy masterly drawn and colors which are set in their own rightful places. Like a piece of spontaneous poetry which the audience murmurs to itself a couple of times before suddenly realizing the depth of its meaning.
1986- Paintings, Portraits Exhibition, Artist's workshop, Tehran
1987- Drawings, Iranian Mythological Drawings Exhibition, Artist's workshop,
Tehran
1987- The contemporary Iranian art critic Mohsen Taher Nokandeh in the Adineh Magazine concerning the Private Workshop Exhibition said:
You can still observe Dabiri's protestations in more than 80 works of oil on canvas, gouache, and acrylic paintings; searching etchings and rough sketches in which the wide range of diversities stem from his deep felt aspirations. The harmony of the colors and the associations found in some of the works, has independently created a warm and sensational poetry which stands in its own right.
1988- Paintings, Nashr Noghreh, Tehran
Again Mr. Nokandeh, regarding the exhibition held at the Nashr Noghreh Publishing House's bookstore, commented:
The first period of Dabiri's works which ended in 1978 could be labeled symbolic, in much the same way that early man first achieved the constructional format of his traditional rituals. The subjective representations of features of the human character allied to his style of employing colors, organically connect to the contents of his works. A wild and uncontrollable tumult along with his deep colors, with the intense intrusion of the wall-relief like bodies, and the equally suave uniform employment of colors in oil paint, are present on both his small and large canvases. This is the most expressive period in his subjective thinking, with his world being peopled with mythical creations which, while not too distant from fantasy, seem to be practicing rituals.
The second period of his works starts from 1978. This is a time when his environment and surroundings have changed. By looking past the outer features of these paintings, we are compelled to approach his deep inner origins and can once more recognize the ideas inherited from his first period with the only changes being in his art of painting. During this second period his increased technical skill and dexterity allows him to produce more complicated structures. The works cry out incisively with their messages. One can compare these big canvases with the works of old native Persian itinerant artists.
The third period of Dabiri's works start with his still life paintings. A prolific period in which he sets out in a new direction which provides him with an opportunity to grow and undergo a variety of different experiences by mixing different styles. This period is represented by the use of new concepts in form and content, in a new language for the fresh challenges of the new age.
1989- Paintings, Pafar Gallery, Tehran
Radio Tehran in its broadcast program "The Sound of Art" commented very harshly on the Pafar Gallery Exhibition stating that Dabiri's way of thinking was akin to that of T.S. Eliot and Edgar Allen Poe, and branded all these works as "decadent".
Concerning the same Exhibition, Parviz Marzban, Professor of Art History, Tehran University, commented:
Sometimes an idea is looked at from different angles and with different viewpoints. This continuous reconstruction of the drawings, compositions, and method of applying the paint, along with his expertise, is an ongoing feature of Dabiri's works. Unique compositions full of mythological elements, graceful figures, sometimes harmonious and soft, while at another time, a decayed carcass, transforming the deja vu scenes with deeper looks, astonishment, anxiety all of these are there to observe. With quick, confident and serious sketching, he works and gives the impression of gently sliding his vision from his eyes to his hands and then onto the paper with no need of an intermediate.
Majeed Shorati, a journalist for Souroush Magazine writes:
Changes in the natural and real posture of human forms and man's surroundings, and juxtapositioning of human faces with nature is a never ending task for Dabiri's imagination. Dabiri does not obey the given norms or cliches of contemporary art and is forever breaking out of the framework laid down by people who are used to easy and accepted norms. Dabiri with his wealth of studies in, knowledge of, and experience in the contemporary art of painting is aiming to reach his own personal and worldly ideal. In this endeavor, only his personal self confidence and perseverance will sustain this goal.
1990- Paintings, 70 Works, Private Exhibition, Tehran
In 1990 Morteza Khakhi, ex-diplomat, modern poetry writer and editor of the Franklin Press in Iran commented on the private exhibition of 70 works held at the artist's atelier that:
Dabiri is able and diligent. His look at the world is probing and discerning. His purity deep within is decent, subtle, and uncompromising. Sometimes his art is harsh, at other times it is soft; sometimes it is sensational and then again sometimes apprehensive. But at all times his works are profound and inspire poetry.
Rouin Pakbaz, Professor of Art History and Art Critic in the Gardoun Magazine remarked about the same exhibition:
He, similar to a story-teller, presents us with a poetic world seen through gray and blue veils. In this world, everything, even the ominous elements have a soft and beautiful manifestation. The artist seems to keep telling the viewer to have no fear; what you are experiencing is nothing but a fairy tale. However this is only one side of Dabiri's paintings. The other aspect is reflects his struggle against the bitterness and brutality of the realities of this world. It is here that we observe a narrative artist, though one that speaks in metaphors.
1991- Drawings, Birds & Looks, Open-air Exhibition, Darakeh Mountains, Tehran
Keyvan Jahanshahi, musician writes in the Adineh Magazine:
In the paradoxes between devotion and fear, our world and that of mythology, Dabiri creates a canvas. The faces, in their own tragic way, become one with their mythological roots. They fight and mingle with each other; they are at once fearful and devoted. In their differences, they become bonded. They are poetic. They are both rooted in a single past and present, which is the moment of their creation.
1991- Collages, Golestan Gallery, Tehran
Ali Asghar Gharabaghi, critic and painter in the Adineh Magazine stated,
What is most evident in Dabiri's works is uniformity and continuity of thought. Each of his canvases unequivocally belongs to his inner thoughts and he paints his canvases with the same words and images that have long been interwoven with his dreams. He aims at creating an environment with no limits and thus precision has no place. This therefore produces a more profound visual effect.
1992- Paintings, Group Exhibition, Abi Gallery, Babol
1992- Paintings, 50 Works, Private Exhibition, Tehran
Ahmad Reza Dalvand, newspaper graphist and art critic wrote in the Sayr & Seihat Magazine, on the private exhibition of 50 paintings that:
The way Dabiri has selected to view the chronology of the history of art, is observable in each of his paintings. From the cave drawings of Altamira to the artistic works of ancient China; from Persian miniatures to primitive African paintings; from (Iranian) Ghavehkhaneh paintings to the mysticism of Gaugin; from the poetry in the paintings of Matisse, to the logic and rationalism of Cubism; from the discipline of Cezanne, to the illusive tales of Chagal it can be stated that Dabiri is the conjunction point of all our visual art memories.
1992- Paintings, Group Exhibition in support of Bosnian Women & Children
1993- Paintings, Group Exhibition, Abi Gallery, Babol
1993- Paintings, Aria Gallery, Tehran
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Rouin Pakbaz commented on the Arya Gallery exhibition that:
In practicing his art, Dabiri has, in his recent paintings, reached his desired objectives. Mastery in his choice of colors, facility in design, uniformity in creativeness, polymorphous positioning of elements in the depictions, and a firm basis for his imaging, are all plainly observable features in these paintings. The thoughtfully conceived order apparent in most of the drawings, manifest a kind of spontaneity and free flowing expression of action. But amongst the most important new elements to emanate from Dabiri's current works, is the basis upon which the quest arises and the complex message represented by the images. By use of visible contrivances, he succeeds in conveying the puzzling and hidden meanings of his messages to the viewer.
His message, especially in his depiction of seated women, is most illuminating. Movements made visible by the use of color, fusion of shapes, and the synergy of shadowy forms and figures, seemingly half protruding in relief, all tend to draw the attention of the viewer to the painting while at the same time, inspiring a sense of excitement.
However the presence of pastel shades of color in the renderings, by giving a placid and mild rhythm to the creative and decorative depictions, produce a relative symmetry to the overall form and thereby bring back a calm stability to the paintings.
The canvases do not ascribe to either a fixed time or place. The reason for the presence of beings and objects in the paintings, are, at once, both real and imaginary. The looks and movements awaken a long past memory and at the very same time, forebode a future event. A murky and bothersome question arises about existence, which stops the routine daily cycle of life for a moment. But, in that fleeting moment, no finite answer to this question can be given. The existence of anything pivots on the border between certainty and doubt. Now we ask ourselves, what is the thing that we can believe in Dabiri's world? Is it the permanence of fiction or the inconstancy of reality? Which one does the artist chose when he is faced with the duality of physical reality as opposed to spiritual existence? Is it the acclamation of life, love, and beauty or fear of the loss of these graces? It is in this manner that Dabiri compels his viewers to start a mental discussion within themselves. Therein lies his success and this success was not easily achieved.
Najaf Daryabandari, author and translator, wrote about the same exhibition in the Adineh Magazine:
The record of Dabiri's paintings over the past twenty years is in fact a journey in the history of contemporary art. It is apparent that it is only abstract art that has never attracted the artist. In his present works, Dabiri has reached the stage, wherein he can forgo his skills and leave his hands free to sketch and decide upon the use of colors. What we see in the current exhibition is a collection of his last years' works in which, in my opinion, we can observe his movement towards maturity and simplicity. In these works the colors are subdued and mellow, usually blue, gray, and brown, with the lines being soft and flowing. The sizes of his works have been reduced and replaced with works of shallow or no spatial depth at all. The works are mostly compositions of an abstract nature but in most of them there is a human presence. In particular the use of a familiar woman's face, usually with an unfinished profile, that resembles the painte's signature, applied with a fast flourish. This visage gives a kind of abstraction to Dabiri's recent works, and renders a strong image to the paintings as if the painter has written poetry with his colors and lines. Bahram Dabiri is a modern professional painter with more or less the same characteristics that one would expect from such an artist.
1994- Paintings, Sayhoon Gallery, Tehran
Hamid Rahmati, critic, writes in the Adineh Magazine:
Dabiri adopts various techniques equally and simultaneously. But being familiar with the media revolution, he willingly makes use of symbols, legends, and recognized historical visual elements. In this process he is more concerned with the symbolism rater than their content. The painter by utilizing these symbols, takes us to the historical dawn of his works, and thereby leads us to the era where this new school was founded. This school that created a new horizon resulting in fundamental developments in painting. At last having passed through those challenging periods with their volatile changes, we have now arrived at the point that the artist can patiently view the past. He now instead of replacing those symbols, has elected to coexist with them.
Dabiri is forced to vacate his atelier that he has had for twenty years. He is therefore drawn to other workshops and therein gains various new experiences in the functional arts.
1995- Felt Rugs, Golestan Gallery, Tehran
Najaf Daryabandari stated in the Hamshari Newspaper that:
One of the characteristics of modern artists is to constantly seek new materials and techniques which have never been used before. The technique of namad mali (felt beating) is a very primitive craft dating back to early man. The innovation in Bahram Dabiri's felt works, is in his ability to mix and blend modern art with an old craft. There is an old saying that says man can always increase his knowledge but not the opposite. In my opinion this precept could well apply to one who wishes to interweave these elements. Because the essence of primitive art such as namad mali lies in its simplicity and naive existence, it is therefore difficult if not virtually impossible, for a modern artist to be able to do this. A felt rug that has the image of a goat, a flower, or a bush thereon, brings to mind the POL KALEH works, which are among the most successful examples of a modern artist’s endeavors to penetrate the soul of a simple felt craftsman.
1996- Felt Rugs, Second Generation, Golestan Gallery, Tehran
1996- Mixed Media, Group Exhibition, French Embassy, Tehran
1996- Etchings & Drawings, Private Exhibition, Tehran
1997- Metal & Ceramic Works, Golestan Gallery, Tehran
Ahmad Reza Ahmadi, author, writes about these works:
The faces and features of his women reach out from the painting and in the entanglements of metal, lose themselves. His pigeons in the blue coloring and rust of metal have become mortal this time. Bahram has come to earth.
Taraneh Yaldah, architect, urban developer, and critic writes in the Akhbar Newspaper:
Bahram Dabiri is a true artist. He understands balance and knows how to reach the limits and also how to pass them. He blends these all together. He has been playing with light and color for years. But his unique essence of his specialty is in his constant search to comprehend new phenomena and to use them in creating new and different pieces of work. With a full head, Dabiri pays attention to details thereby creating a totality of art each time creating a work of art in which love, beauty, and finesse are all present. Bahram Dabiri is an artist of today that carries with him all the world's art cultures of the past. He is sincere, frank, and extremely proud. He says, "One has to be pure, unadulterated, and distinguished."
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Bahram Dabiri thinks these thoughts, puts them into practice, and emerges successfully therefrom. Taking those primitive murals of the cavemen, he puts spears and bows in their hands and creates "Centaur", which in fact is himself. He, who was born in the month of December, is the offspring of Zeus and Centaur, under the sign of Sagittarius, wounded and in pain. For Bahram Dabiri all the women in the world are Goddesses of fertility and the harbingers of peace. So it is hardly surprising to see images of women in all his current works. He is able to use his visual words everywhere and in any medium, represent his designs powerfully. This is because he not only has something to say but also knows the language of communication and most of all is totally in control of the tools of his tradecraft in the varied and different fields of his endeavors.
 1997- Commissioned to produce 120 collages and 3 Bas relief’s for the Esteghlal Hotel, Tehran (formerly Royal Tehran Hilton).
1997- Paintings, Studies in Shiraz School, Private Exhibition, Tehran
1998- Paintings, "Dabir's Hens and Roosters", Golestan Gallery, Tehran
1999- Paintings on Glass, Pasargade Gallery
The Golestaneh Magazine article stated:
What Dabiri has achieved in these works has two important aspects. The first is in reviving a Qajar period traditional art form: that is painting on glass. Secondly it is the introduction of his own special elements and techniques into these paintings. Meanings of an intellectual, imaginary, and symbolic nature are interwoven in the framework of Dabiri's glass paintings. Dabiri is not following traditional art; rather he is pursuing tradition in art.
 1999- Mixed Media, "Envelopes", Niavaran Book City, Tehran
The Asr Ayandehgan Newspaper wrote in reference to this exhibition:
In this first day of the year 2000, a visually different exhibition has opened in a cultural center, which, with a poetic theme, aims to portray the feeling of nostalgia at the start of the third millenium. Bahram Dabiri has, in the recent works, always tried to transfer visual intellect from the walls of exhibition halls, into peoples' lives. In his most recent exhibition at the Niavaran Book City, 29 of his collage works entitled "Envelopes" have been placed on display which continue this effort.
1999- Group exhibition of paintings entitled "Total Arts at the Courtyard" in Dubai,
UAE.
2000- Group painting exhibition at the Art Expo New York 2000, New York, USA
2000- Contemporary Iranian Modern Art exhibition, New York, USA
2000- Reagan Center Washington DC, USA
2000- Donation of three paintings to the cancer ward of the Martyrs Hospital,
Tehran, Iran
2000- Group exhibition of allegorical themes in Iranian modern paintings,
Museum of Contemporary Arts Tehran, Iran
2000- Execution of 10 large canvases at the Iran Bastan Museum entitled
"Introduction of Greco-Iranian mutual heritages; Dialogue of Civilizations."
2000- Time Magazine refers briefly to Bahram Dabiri and prints his photograph,
in an article on Iran, June 12, 2000.
2001- Mixed Media, "25 Leaves from a Lost Book", Seyhoon Gallery, Tehran
2001- Mixed Media, Bahram Dabiri’s Inscriptions, Golestan Gallery, Tehran
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Ali Asghar Gharabaghi in the Golestaneh Magazine, issue number 30, states:
The profuse variation in Dabiri's works is due to his inborn questing and capacity for the creation of novel ideas. Whilst all this variation is carried out on an expansive field, yet it is contained in a special circle of thought. He continually gives human shape to artistic forms, and depicts humans artistically. His endeavors are all geared to give earthly and tangible shape to meanings. It is for this reason that even his epical figures seem to be within reach and touch of the viewers. This magical style and form of expression makes it unnecessary for Dabiri to utilize others as tools to explain his feelings. When he paints human beings, their actuality and legitimacy are presented as realities, and thus, consciously or subconsciously, he fathoms the depths of the psychology of the post modernist style. Post-modernism believes these psychological depths to be equal to the peak of artistic creation this is the same type of depth which changes the artist from one canvas to the next, and entangles him with a new feeling. Each and every feeling is a magical spell that bewitches the artist. The artist tries, with the help of his painting, to break yet another frame of this magical spell.
2001- Group exhibition of paintings entitled "Total Arts at the Courtyard" in Dubai,
UAE.
2001- Group exhibition of paintings in aid of MS victims, Sayhoon Gallery,
Tehran.
2001- Group exhibition of paintings, House of Artists, Tehran
2001- Paintings, Exclusive Private Exhibition of 20 selected Works, Marbella
Country Club, Marbella Spain
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