Parviz Tanavoli
Parviz Tanavoli (born in 1316 in Tehran) is a famous Iranian sculptor, painter, researcher and collector. The collections “Nothing”, “Hands”, “Lock and Cage” and “Shaer” are among Parviz Tanavoli’s most famous works, among which “Nothing” is world famous. It should be noted that the Persepolis statue of Tanavali was sold at Christie’s auction in 2007 with an unprecedented record of more than two million and five hundred thousand dollars.
For the first time in 1337, he made a statue in memory of Farhad Kohken. This statue, which shows Farhad after falling from the mountain, becomes the basis for the “Poet” collection. During these years, Tanavoli was studying at the Milan Academy and was a student of Marino Marini, and according to himself, “my works were not yet influenced by my teacher”. Parviz Tanavoli says in his book about “Shaer” collection: “Before 1340 and the trip to America, everything I made and drew was in memory of Farhad and their titles were intertwined with his name.” In the winter of 1340, he received an invitation from the Minneapolis Art College. In this invitation, the college had invited him as a “guest artist” for six months. After he arrived in Minneapolis, he worked in the college’s sculpture workshop and started his work as a continuation of Messi’s work.
The first idea of ”Nothing” came to Parviz Tanavoli in 1343 in the Zal Zar studio. The first appearance of “Nothing” was with yellow plastic and in a piece composed of various materials. Dr. Shiva Balaghi believes that part of the source of inspiration for “Hitch” was Tanavoli’s deep knowledge of ancient Persian poetry. He considers “nothing” to be derived from Rumi’s poems. Tanavoli also confirmed this statement and said: “My attachment to the ancient poetry of the East is one of the long-standing interests that I have always had towards the fruitful East”.
“Nothing” was actually Tanavoli’s protest against the two main currents of Iranian art that dominated at that time: one was people who worshiped everything that came from the West and the other people who praised calligraphy in the paintings of the Saqakhane school. Although Tanavoli himself was considered one of the founders of that school, but according to himself, “Nothing” was the voice of this protest. In the spring of 1352, twenty-five sculptures by Hich Parviz Tanavoli were on public display in Tehran. they came In 1971 (1350), a stainless steel statue of Nothing was installed at Hamlin University in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. From 45 years ago until today, “Nothing” has become a symbol and image of modern Iranian art.
His last exhibition, which was at the same time as the launch of the book “The Poet”, was held on November 23rd at the Etemad 3 Gallery. He, who is no longer willing to be interviewed, says “I have said everything in my books”. To date, more than ten volumes of his books have been published, which is a valuable resource for art researchers.