Lot 39: Koorosh Shishegaran (Iranian, b. 1945)

Koorosh Shishegaran (Iranian, b. 1945)
Portrait
signed and dated 'SHISHEH' and signed in Farsi (lower left); signed in Farsi (on the reverse )
oil on canvas
72¾ x 44 7/8in (184.5 x 130.5cm.)
Painted in 1985

London, Barbican Centre, Iranian Contemporary Art, 12 April - 3 July 2001 (illustrated in colour, p.49)

PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF MR. AND MRS. SEIF-NASSERI

"I always thought to myself why we should not paint a portrait in an abstract form. An abstract portrait gives the artist liberty to look beyond the appearance into subject in a symbolic way. There are many unspoken secrets within a portrait that once revealed, present a very different world. It is a world much more interesting than the world of appearance. Every artist has his unique way of depicting his subjects if he tries to detach himself from the appearance." (Koorosh Shishegaran)

The present lot is an outstanding early example of Shishegaran's "portraiture".