TEHRAN – An exhibition underway at the Negarestan Garden Museum of the University of Tehran showcases a collection of metal sculptures on the theme of peace.

In a statement for his exhibition, the 59-year-old sculptor Mohammad Mohammadzadeh Titkanlu said that the culture of scientific imagination of peace is the central theme of the exhibit entitled “Art Metallurgy”.

Four of the sculptures are from a collection that was showcased at an exhibition in 1995. Nineteen other sculptures have been produced between 2021 and 2023.

Most of the sculptures have been made out of new and scrap metal by welding, and Mohammadzadeh has also applied dark brown paint to cover the surfaces of the artworks.

“This exhibition intends to give a new definition of artistic creation and to represent the world of objects in a different way,” he said.

“This collection aims to distance itself from the ordinary elements in the arena of contemporary life and offer alternative elements with profound concepts,” he added.

“It can be seen that an artwork is actually a mysterious entity born of its creator’s imagination whose life is not accidental but has been formed purposely with a physical and spiritual life. An artwork is alive and makes life spiritual,” he explained.

“Space Aliens”, “Space Peace”, “Atomic Peace”, “Dark Ages Fuddled Torturers”, “Righteous Heroes and Legends”, “A Musician with Spiritual Songs” “A Soldier with a Bugle of Peace”, “Adam and Eve in a Single Body” and “A Warrior Alone with His Defensive Shield” are some of the sculptures on view at the exhibition, which will run until July 21.

Also a painter, Mohammadzadeh has showcased his collections in numerous exhibitions in Iran.

One of his collections comprises canvases portraying Nader Shah in a number of the battles the Iranian ruler and conqueror fought to create an empire that stretched from the Indus River to the Caucasus Mountains.

Mohammadzadeh is also an expert in daguerreotypes, pictures made on a silver surface using a photographic process that was invented in 1839. Pictures done by this photographic process are made on the silver surface, which is sensitized with iodine and developed by exposure to mercury vapor.

Photo: Sculptures by Mohammad Mohammadzadeh Titkanlu are on view in an exhibition at the Negarestan Garden Museum of the University of Tehran on June 30, 2023. (Iran Art) 

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