OVERVIEW

Salé Sharifi

Liste Year

Year of Birth

Country of Birth

Presented by

2021

1989

Iran

Soo Contemporary

Salé Sharifi, "Bygone Glory" Exhibition, Installation View, Soo Contemporary, November 2020
Salé Sharifi, "Bygone Glory" Exhibition, Installation View, Soo Contemporary, November 2020

The Persian Garden

The Persian Garden brings an image of Heaven into mind.

My interest in history, as a time and place you could visit, has always been inspiring and instructive. Driven by the same passion, I developed a fascination for the “Howz” (water basin and fountain) in the context of the Persian Garden, as well as its use in urban design in Iran. Some accounts were specifically interesting:

— Shah Abbas II was fascinated by fireworks and fountains, leisurely spending time sitting by the fountain in Namakdan Estate. They would open the fountain stream and play fireworks on the other side of the e ...

The Land into which the Forefinger Knows not a Way

In “The Land into which the Forefinger Knows not a Way”, the form and composition of the fountain in the center of the piece is inspired by a now-destroyed fountain in one of Tehran’s old squares, Qazvin Square, as well as the last Iranian monarch’s garden in Ramsar, a city in Northern Iran, near the Caspain Sea.

The background, on the other hand, is based on the back garden of Niyavaran Palace in Tehran, the palace which was the final residence of the last Iranian royal family before they left the country forever.

Overwhelmed by all the historical events these small objects and locat ...

In the Privacy of the King’s Garden

Titled “In the Privacy of the King’s Garden”, this painting’s composition is mainly inspired by the trees in Chehelsotoon Palace and the small fountain in Ateeq Grand Mosque, both in the ancient city of Isfahan in Central Iran.

The trees and the background in this painting were inspired by the garden in Chehelsotoon Palace, a garden whose quiet and comfort Shah Abbass The Second of the Safavid Dynasty is said to have immensely enjoyed.

The small fountain in the center of the painting is modeled after the fountain in Isfahan’s Ateeq Grand Mosque, a mosque which was originally finished ...

Baharestan

The composition of “Baharestan” is inspired by a west-to-east view as seen from one of the fountains in Baharestan Square in Tehran’s central areas, home to many administrative buildings.

In the painting, recent constructions and modifications in the area have not been taken into account.

Baharestan Square is one of the oldest squares in Tehran and hosts the campus of the Iranian Parliament, making it a witness to many political and social events in contemporary Iranian history.

Light strips are usually the type of decorations reserved for state or public celebrations and simi ...

Next Spring

The trees in “Next Spring” are modeled from a variety of the trees found in Negarestan Garden and Golestan Palace, both royal residences and locations in Tehran created in the eighteenth century during the reign of Qajar Dynasty.

Following the observation of the trees in both locations and taking a contemplative approach, the trees and their composition in the painting were gradually formed, much like how the elements in lines come together in a poem.

Taking such poetic approach, the painting depicts a spring in the future: the next spring has not arrived yet, and it may never come —y ...

About a decade ago, while looking at the drawings of German botanist Basilius Besler, I became fascinated with botanical and scientific drawings and the fact that a now-artistic medium was being used for documentation and study. I started making drawings, following their footsteps in technique and approach while having a different motive as well as lack of knowledge on the types and features of plants. Instead, I focused on compositions, intermixing different plants and their characteristics. I was simultaneously studying certain aspects of Persian (Miniature) Painting, and it gradually started to de ...

Salé Sharifi, "Bygone Glory" Exhibition, Installation View, Soo Contemporary, November 2020
Salé Sharifi, "Bygone Glory" Exhibition, Installation View, Soo Contemporary, November 2020
Salé Sharifi, "Bygone Glory" Exhibition, Installation View, Soo Contemporary, November 2020
Salé Sharifi, "Bygone Glory" Exhibition, Installation View, Soo Contemporary, November 2020