The Italian Embassy in Tehran launched the second episode, by the title "Hands in Earth", of the video series "From Tehran to Rome, A Journey through Art", featuring Iranian artist Mohsen Vaziri Moghaddam, the leading representative of the movement of contemporary abstract art.

Vaziri Moghaddam was born in Iran in 1924.  He soon relocated to Italy where he completed his studies and carried out most of his artistic career.

The new initiative in the field of fine arts, indicated by Ambassador Perrone in his introductory speech at the event, aims at highlighting the depth of the cultural link between Italy and Iran and their mutual artistic influences. "For this reason we have selected seven artists, Italian and Iranian, who in our view are most exemplary of this fruitful interaction and special ties between Italy and Iran, to be featured in this extraordinary new video series," the Ambassador said. 

"Painting is not mere reconstruction of objective reality. The artist should create something that didn’t exist before. This is Vaziri Moghaddam’s guiding principle and the leitmotif of the video-documentary featuring also his innovative style of painting with sand, which draws inspiration from the ash-black sands of Lake Albano, south-east of Rome," he added.

Vaziri Moghaddam studied painting at the University of Tehran and later at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, creating most of his works in Italy. His artworks are today preserved by the "Mohsen Vaziri Moghaddam Foundation", founded in Rome in 2017 and administered by the artist’s son Hamoun Vaziri.

Vaziri Moghaddam died in Rome at the age of 94. He has left an important artistic production made up of a wide selection of works made with different techniques and materials as well as the art manuals "Designing Method" 1 and 2, “Translation of Thought and Work of Paul Klee”, “14 Words about Painting, Graphic, and Sculpture”, and a memoir, which today is a valuable reference for artists from all over the world.

“From Tehran to Rome. A Journey through Art ", is a series of seven monographic episodes produced by the Italian Embassy in Tehran in cooperation with local artists.

The episode “Hands in Earth", produced thanks to the access to documents and materials provided by the "Mohsen Vaziri Moghaddam" Foundation, as well as the first episode of the series, "Tapesh" featuring artist Bizhan Bassiri, are available on the Italian Embassy's social media channels.

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