77th birthday of Aydin Aghdashloo celebrated

TEHRAN.(Iranart) - Art elites, friends and fans gathered at the pavilion of the Persian art news website Honaronline during the Press Exhibition in Tehran on Monday evening to celebrate the 77th birthday of the veteran Iranian painter and art expert Aydin Aghdashloo.

The director of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Ali-Mohammad Zare’, the director of the Visual Arts Office, Majid Mollanoruzi, artist Hossein Mahjubi and calligrapher Ali Shirazi were among the guests attending the celebration.

Aghdashloo who was happy to be surrounded by art aficionados said, “Honoring any individual means that our collective memory is still working and we have not forgotten things.”

He added that the major theme of his paintings has always been fighting against oblivion all throughout his artistic career.

“I am a human being and have tried to do my best in what I have done. Painting is what I can do and my work might find its way into museums or galleries, or even appear on a T-shirt or a birthday cake, and that is fine with me. However, I have tried to do my best and I am under no illusion that I can change things,” he said.

In his brief remarks, Mahjubi also praised Aghdashloo and said, “Aghdashlu is the honor of all Iran. This pleasant, friendly artist has done valuable work in various areas and I hope he will continue to do so. I am in love with the culture of this land and I hope this culture remains firm forever.”

Mollanoruzi also called Aghdashloo a great asset for the country.

Aghdashloo next cut his 77th birthday cake bearing the image of one of his paintings from his series “Memories of Destruction” , and received many gifts, among which was a beautiful calligraphy work inscribed and preseted by Shirazi.