TEHRAN-Sohrab Art Gallery in Tehran is hosting an exhibition of paintings by the famous self-taught painter Mokarrameh Ghanbari (1928-2005).

Organized in collaboration with the Mokarrameh House Museum, the exhibit titled “Tales of Dari Kandeh” opened on Friday. On display are 31 works from different periods of the late painter’s artistic career, Mehr reported.

On the opening day of the exhibition, the 2002 documentary “Mokarrameh - Dreams and Memories” on the life and works of the artist, directed by well-known Iranian director Ebrahim Mokhtari was also screened.

Born in Dari Kandeh village in the northern Babol County, Mazandaran Province, Mokarrameh began painting at the age of 63 in 1991. 

Despite her great talent, Mokarrameh never received any formal training in painting. She used bright, original colors inspired by the beautiful natural surroundings of her neighborhood as well as her memories and dreams in her art. 

She took on painting as a way to express her feelings when her children, concerned for her health, would no longer allow her the farm work and cow herding she enjoyed.

The widowed Mokarrameh, then in her early 60s, spent her time caring for the cows that she loved and doing farm work, until she became very ill and had to go to Tehran for medical care. While she was sick in bed, her children, who were concerned about her health, sold the cows to reduce her workload. But their well-meaning act sent her into a depression. Her first painting was a portrait of one of the cows she missed so much.

A friend gave her paper and colored pencils to express herself, and she immediately began to draw obsessively. For four years, she kept her art a secret out of fear of what her neighbors would think. She painted late at night and hid her work if anyone came into her home. But her creative spirit would not be suppressed. Her work found its way onto the walls of her home, her stove, and the back of discarded wallpaper.  When he discovered her new passion, her son brought her 50 sheets of paper and she soon covered both sides of them all, making her own paint of natural dyes when she ran out of the store-bought kind.

Within a few years, her works were being recognized by painters in Iran and overseas. For the first time in 1995, her paintings were exhibited at Tehran’s Seyhun Gallery, with follow-on exhibits in 1996, 1997, 1998, and 2005.

Her works have been compared with the paintings of Russian-born French surrealist Marc Chagall (1887-1985). They have been exhibited at over 40 exhibitions in Iran and other countries including Bowers Museum in California.

In 2001, Ghanbari was awarded an honorary certificate at the Conference of the Foundation of Iranian Women’s Studies in Stockholm and was named the year’s exemplary woman. In addition, she was named the “Female Painter of 2001” by the Swedish National Museum.

She died at the age of 77 in 2005 and was buried in the courtyard of her house. After her death, her house was registered as a museum by the Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization to preserve her artworks.

The exhibition will run until May 6 at Sohrab Art Gallery located at No. 142, Somayeh Ave., between Mofatteh and Ramsar streets.

SS/SAB