Massoud Arabshahi

Massoud Arabshahi (1935-2019) is a painter, sculptor, and one of the leading artists in Iranian contemporary art, who has successfully exhibited a combination of modern abstract art and the geometry of surface and line in traditional Iranian architecture in his works. Massoud Arabshahi's works have been considered as "Saqakhaneh" art in terms of combining modern and traditional methods, although the use of traditional themes and elements is not evident in his work.

Massoud Arabshahi was born in Tehran. As a teenager, he learned art from Mahmoud Olia and later at the Fine Arts Conservatory under the supervision of Shokouh Riazi. From a young age, Arabshahi was interested in Iranian ancient art. He sketched, researched, and studied ancient objects, myths, and motifs in museums. In the 1960s, he participated in Paris and Tehran Biennials and in many group shows as well. After some time, he studied at the Faculty of Decorative Arts, Tehran, with professors such as Karim Emami and Hossein Kazemi, and in 1968, he received his master's degree in architecture.

During the 1970s, Massoud Arabshahi, along with artists such as Faramarz Pilaram, Marcos Grigorian, Gholamhossein Nami, Morteza Momayez, Sirak Melkonian, and Abdolreza Daryabeigi, established "The  Group of  Free Painters and Sculptors". They have exhibited their works at important events such as Art Basel, Switzerland and the International Wash Art Exhibition. Arabshahi won the Monaco International Show Prize and the Mother   Day Festival Prize in 1973.

His studies in architecture and extensive research on ancient art have had a profound effect on his art. In his works, alluding to traditional themes is done through the structure and in the form of colors, textures, lines, and abstract surfaces.

Massoud Arabshahi's paintings and reliefs are considered to be a rereading of archetypes and myths, cultural elements and symbols, and a reminder of the planning of historical monuments. He was inspired by Achaemenid and Assyrian art and even Babylonian carvings and inscriptions; combining the border of two-dimensional and three-dimensional motifs in his works is another feature of the ancient art. This combination of tradition and modernity has made Massoud Arabshahi one of the artists of the Saqakhaneh School.

After the Iranian Revolution, in 1982, the artist immigrated to France and then to the United States where he continued his artistic activity. One of his most important works at the international level is a relief by him in the Hollywood building in Los Angeles. After his return to Iran in 1992 the most important reliefs that Massoud Arabshahi has created can be seen in the reliefs executed on Modares Highway in Tehran in 1995, the conference hall of  Soil Mechanics Laboratory project, the relief of the entrance hall of the Islamic Countries Summit in Tehran, and the executive project of the Bar Association building, all have been implemented in large scales.

After his return to Iran, Massoud Arabshahi's paintings were exhibited in several solo exhibitions at Seyhoun Gallery, Golestan Gallery, Iranshahr Gallery, and Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. The group show of «Saqakhaneh» at Meem Gallery in Dubai, «Survivors of Tehran's Identity» at  Teer Art Week in 2018, and the show «10, 20, 30» at Tehran Azad Art Gallery in 2019 have been some of the most significant group shows hosting the works of this artist. Massoud Arabshahi died in Tehran in 2019 due to old age.