Poster Artists

'Abbas 'Attar, born 1944

An Iranian born photojournalist, 'Abbas 'Attar has covered major social and political events around the world, including in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Chile, Cuba, South Africa, and throughout the Middle East. 'Abbas joined the prestigious photographic agency Magnum in 1981, and served as President of Magnum from 1998 to 2001. From 1978 to 1980, he took to the streets of Iran to photograph and document the popular uprisings. His photographs are some of the most iconic images of the Iranian Revolution. Some of his revolutionary photographs were published in his Iran: la Révolution Confiscée and in Balaghi, "Writing with Light." The first retrospective of his work, Abbas, 45 years in Photography, was held in the summer of 2011 at the National Museum of Singapore.

Kazim Chalipa, born 1957

The son of Hasan Isma'ilzadeh, Kazim Chalipa received his M.F.A. in painting from Tehran University. Chalipa is one of the most prominent artists of the Iranian Revolution. Post-revolutionary organizations and institutions reproduced many of his paintings as posters during the Iran-Iraq War. Since his father's death in 2007, Chalipa has established a foundation in his honor to maintain his father's legacy and the tradition of Iranian coffee-house painting. Chalipa is currently working towards his PhD at the Shahed Faculty of the Arts, while also offering painting courses at several universities in Tehran.

Hasan Isma'ilzadeh, born 1922 and died 2007

Isma'ilzadeh was a student of one of the pioneers of the Iranian coffee-house painting genre, Mohammad Modabber (d. 1967) and Hossein Gholar Aghassi. Developed as a visual aid for storytelling in traditional Iranian teahouses, "coffee-house" painting is a genre of painting devoted to Iranian religious, national, and mythological tales. Imaginative, colorful, and highly detailed, this specifically Iranian painting style is exemplified in the poster "The Shah's Exile and Khomeini's Return," painted by Isma'ilzadeh.

Husayn Khusrawjirdi, born 1957

Khusrawjirdi graduated from Tehran University in 1985, with a focus in painting, sculpture, graphic design, and set design. His work has been shown in Denmark, Syria, France, Russia, Pakistan, India, Azerbaijan, China, the Netherlands, the United States, and recently at the Venice Biennale. He has lived in London since 2010.

Nasser Palangi, born 1957

Palangi spent the first two years of the Iran-Iraq War producing sketches near the frontlines. Palangi also completed a mural series titled "My Memory of the War" (1981) for the congregational mosque of Khorramshahr, one of the hardest hit cities during the war. Palangi later graduated from Tehran University in 1984 with a degree in Visual Arts. His work (drawings, paintings, and photography) can be found in museums and galleries around the world. Palangi is currently working on a Ph.D. in Photo Media at the University of Sydney, Australia.

Jalil Rasuli, born 1947

Mohammad Jalil Rasuli moved to Tehran in 1960, eventually becoming a professional calligrapher in 1968. Rasuli is known for being one of the pioneers of modernist Persian calligraphic painting.

Habib Sadeqi, born 1957

Sadeqi received his M.F.A. degrees in painting from the University of Tehran in 1993, before going on to earn his Ph.D in 2009, in Research on Arts at Tarbiat Modarres University in Tehran. He was Director of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art from 2004-2009, and has exhibited his work in galleries in France, Germany, England, China, Hungary, Japan, Poland, Korea, Canada, Syria, Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Russia, and Lebanon. He teaches painting at several different universities in Tehran.

Kourosh Shishegaran, born 1945

Shishegaran is well known in Iran for his popular revolutionary posters. He began printing posters as early as 1976 for the Civil War in Lebanon, before the uprising against the Pahlavi regime in Iran began. Shishegaran produced posters that he called "motto art," that is, bearing Persian slogans. Despite his initial support of the Revolution, from 1981 to 1986 Shishegaran was accused of anti-regime activities and imprisoned in Evin prison. In more recent years, Shishegaran has focused his energies on painting and drawing. His posters and canvas works have been exhibited in Iran and around the world.

Mohammad Taraqijah, born 1943 and died 2010

Mohammad Ali Taraqijah began his career as an engineer, but eventually pursued art as his true passion and made it his life's work. His paintings are known for their inclusion of distinctive and highly stylized horse figures. Taraqijah's work has been shown in Berlin, Chicago, Florence, Geneva, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, New York, Tehran, Paris, Beijing, Tokyo, Washington D.C., Vienna, and Zurich.