Lot 53: Mansour Qandriz (Iranian, 1935-1965)

Mansour Qandriz (Iranian, 1935-1965)
Untitled
signed in Farsi (lower right)
oil and metallic paint on canvas
43½ x 32¼ (110 x 82cm.)
Painted circa early 1960s

Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Saqqakhaneh, 1977 (illustrated in the catalogue)

Private Collection of Mrs. Seyhoun
Acquired from the above by present owner in early 1980s

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION

One of the pioneers of Saqqa-khaneh art, Mansour Qandriz, died tragically in a car accident in 1965 when still young. As a result his surviving works are extremely rare.

Qandriz's paintings of the 1960s were inspired by mystic symbols such as 'alams and other ornaments, clearly related to those in the works of his contemporaries Zenderoudi and Pilaram. However, unlike other artists he did not employ calligraphy in his paintings, instead he imbued them with a raw primitivism, and linking these symbols from the Islamic period of Iran to its earlier art. The central motif in several of his paintings resembles the "Tree of Life" in ancient Persian cultures, such as the 3000 year-old silvered metal works of Amlash.

Qandriz's use of metallic paint and the way in which he restricted his use of colour makes his paintings evocative of two further forms of Iranian folk art, the talismanic metal plate, engraved with patterns and symbols, and the strong abstracted symbolic motifs on tribal rugs and carpets.