TEHRAN – “The Secrets of Eternity”, a multimedia exhibition inspired by the poetry of Persian classical poet Omar Khayyam (1048-1131), opened Friday at Tehran’s Silk Road Gallery.

Filmmakers, actors, painters and illustrators including Abbas Kiarostami, Mohammad Ehsai, Farshid Mesqali, Pariyoush Ganji, Farah Osuli, Ebrahim Haqiqi, Reza Kianian and Shadi Qadirian have displayed their collections of artworks in the exhibit.

The opening ceremony was attended by a large number of artists and art aficionados, the gallery announced in a press release on Saturday.

“I began typography on Persian contemporary poetry in 1997, some of which were later published on a book. I later concentrated on poetry by Rumi, Hafez and then Khayyam. The works on display here are from my ‘I, Matisse, and Khayyam’ series, which I made in 2013,” graphic designer Ebrahim Haqiqi said at the opening ceremony.

Artist Farah Osuli also said, “Khayyam has a great position for me and has always been with me in my good and bad moods and I always learn from him. He has always reminded me that nothing is eternal.

“My collection here on display contains the romantic miniature paintings decorated with tools of war such as bombs and missiles to show the instability of this world,” Osuli added.

According to the gallery director Anahita Qabaian, due to the large number, the artworks will be shown in two exhibits, the first of which will run for one month, and the second will open afterwards at the gallery located at 210 Keshavarz Blvd.

“We plan to showcase this exhibit outside Iran to give visitors a chance to explore the roots of the rich culture of Iran,” Qabaian had said previously.

Omar Khayyam, a Persian mathematician, astronomer and poet was renowned in his own country and in his own time for his scientific achievements, but is chiefly known to English-speaking readers through the translation by the English writer Edward Fitzgerald of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.

Photo: Art fans visit the Secrets of Eternity exhibition on Persian poet Omar Khayyam at Tehran’s Silk Road Gallery on November 27, 2015. (Honaronline/Gatha Ziatabari)

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