TEHRAN – Painter Habibollah Sadeqi who was best known for his works on the Islamic Revolution and the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, died of heart failure at his home in Tehran on Wednesday. He was 65.

“Due to heart disease, he was admitted to the hospital a month ago; however, he was released ten days ago to be prepared for surgery, but he passed away this morning as a result of heart failure,” his wife Fatemeh Kazemi told the Persian service of ILNA.   

Sadeqi was a member of the Iranian Academy of Arts and the Visual Arts Office of the Art Bureau of the Islamic Ideology Dissemination Organization.

He also served as the director of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMCA) from 2003 to 2008.
 
Sadeqi started painting at eight and then was admitted to the School of Fine Arts in Tehran. He studied painting in the Fine Art Faculty at the University of Tehran.

His academic education continued and he obtained a Ph.D. in art at Tarbiat Modarres University.

He also carried out several study projects on different topics such as “An Analysis of Forms, Images and Colors in the Holy Quran” and “Images of Humans in the Mirror of Art after the Advent of Islam in Iran”. 

His works have been showcased in over 100 solo and group exhibitions in Iran and have received great critical acclaim. 

One of his solo exhibits entitled “Piece of Paradise” was organized at Tehran’s Sareban Gallery in January 2012.

He said that the collection was the product of 15 years of studies and 5 years of constant work.

“The beauty revealed in the artworks is inspired by the beauties hidden in every individual around me; it is as if their love and affection are lying on the canvas,” he said in his statement for the exhibition.

“I have examined the relationship of people with the beauty of nature in this paradise, and I believe that, despite the complications and cruelty that exist in the world, people’s behavior can make it beautiful,” he said.

In his latest painting project, “A Requiem for the Manifestation of Simorgh”, done at the Khial Gallery of the Saba Art and Cultural Institute, Sadeqi paid a tribute to General Qassem Soleimani.

He said that the project narrates the concepts derived from the resistance, bravery and martyrdom of the commander.  

During this project, Sadeqi created four paintings, each one measuring 2.5 x 2 meters.

Photo: A file photo shows the Iranian artist Habibollah Sadeqi. (Honaronline/Farzan Qasemi)

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