Mohamed Ehsai

Private Collection, United Arab Emirates (acquired directly from the artist in 2006)

This work is in very good condition. There is a sign of orange media accretion running from the lower right of the centre close the bottom edge, with some accretions along the right edge corner, all of which can be removed by a professional restorer. There are some fine drying cracks below the centre of the top edge. The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although they fail to convey the texture and the quality of the silver leaves used in the original work. The red tends towards a softer red.
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Mohammed Ehsai is a leading figure in contemporary Iranian calligraphy who derives his key inspiration from the calligraphy found in religious texts. He merges his personal style with his cultural heritage, resulting in works comprised of an aesthetically opulent fusion of the two. Ehsai's unique style has strongly influenced the younger generation of contemporary Iranian calligraphers and graphic designers. With his distinctive blend of traditional techniques with modern style graphics, he creates a fresh and innovative calligraphic artistic form.

Ehsai considers letters as individual visual elements, rather than components of a whole. He first mastered formal calligraphy before exploring the flowing rhythms of the 18^th Century cursive Naskh script, the broken form of Shekasteh, and the 15^th Century Persian Nasta’liq script. His thorough understanding of these ancient forms enables his artworks to transition seamlessly between ancient calligraphy and modern art, pushing aesthetic boundaries and creating a new perspective for lyrical Iranian art.

His works are divided into two categories: the “calligraphy-paintings” which are influenced by structural calculation and the traditional writings observed in Islamic architecture, and the “eternal alphabet” in which free-flowing brushstrokes give the painting a faster rhythm.

The present work seamlessly combines both styles. Mohabbat–the Farsi word for kindness, compassion and sympathy–is a tribute to the sacred art of calligraphy, however in the present work, the word holds a more secular meaning. The writing turns into abstraction and the letters, which are overlaid and distributed in a circular and dense yet joyful composition, are no longer decipherable. The morphed word as a twisted form is the main element of the work, but it must be viewed solely as a visual tool of expression.