TEHRAN – Iranian surrealist painter Iran Darrudi has asked her countrymen to share their love of their homeland.

Speaking to the Iran-France Friendship Association in an online interview on last Wednesday, the 83-year-old Darrudi said, “Unfortunately, Iran and its history has been consigned to oblivion, however, we cannot deny our identity; we are Iranian and the history shows that this land has been the founder of the world’s culture.”

She addressed Iranians and said, “Be respectful of the Persian language and write and speak properly; we should share our common love for Iran.”

The Tehran Municipality has allocated a large area to establish a museum to embrace works by the renowned Iranian surrealist painter Iran Darrudi.

Born in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad, Darrudi has studied at Ecole Superier des Beaux-Arts and the École du Louvre in Paris and the Royal Academy of Brussels. She also received education on television direction and production at the RCA Institute in New York City.

Few years ago, she returned to her homeland and the Tehran Municipality promised her to establish a museum in the Yusefabad district to embrace the works she had brought with herself from Paris.  

In addition, Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO) honored her with the first Eternal Tile, which was embedded on the wall of her house in Tehran in May 2017.

The idea to install the tiles on the houses of contemporary artists, literati and religious figures was initiated by the CHTHO Office for Inscription of Properties and Revitalization of Intangible and Natural Heritage.

The tile bearing the name and title of the celebrity is installed on the façade of his/her house. It also carries the year the artist began to live in the house.

“Over my life, I have regularly proved that how much I love Iran, its great history and my countrymen; I was born a lover and I have honestly expressed my love of Iran and its great history,” Darrudi said.

“I’m thankful for my people’s affection to me and I want to know that I deserve your love; I’ve been offering service fairly over all these years to acquaint my people with the contemporary art,” she added.          

She talked about her faith in her Iranian identity and said, “My name is Iran and by selecting this name for me, they have assigned me a great duty.”

Darrudi also spoke about how she is dealing with the home quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Fortunately, I always take my pleasure from every moment of life. I can manage myself by myself and I can create something in solitude. I’ve been spending all my time in the home quarantine drawing paintings and I feel that I am among the luckiest people of the world,” she concluded.

Photo: Painter Iran Darrudi attends the opening of Tara Behbahani’s exhibition at Golestan Gallery in Tehran on October 5, 2018. (Honaronline/Ramona Mirian)

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