Ahmad Vakili’s Figurative Art, an Ultra-Political State

Ahmad Vakili’s Figurative Art, an Ultra-Political State

A review on Ahmad Vakili’s Solo Drawing and Painting Exhibit at Hoor Art Gallery

Tandismag Website Written by Javid Ramezani

English Translation by Arian Azadkam

Drawing has been severely uplifted in Iran from the early 30’s until now, as the background of all modern paintings there’s a light of drawing encapsultaed in the artwork somehow, the modern figurative artists have a special glance to drawing, they assume it is an important opportunity for self-discovering and the authenticity of it is due to momentariness, right on point where the line has emerged on paper and genuineness of doing the act of drawing, a perception of each & every human’s logic for the subject is based on psychological axis of this approach.

This means that creating tools must be ready and there shouldn’t be any pre-thoughts attached to artist’s mind for drawing, hence the creation of drawing artwork has aligned with the understanding of it at the same time. These instructions have been achieved via researches on visual literacy, it’s conceptual foundations, the study of the human’s eye attitude and his perception which has been shifted these days because of alterations that made to visionary receptions of mankind and the power of image in today’s world.

In past drawings represented in paintings by planning and understanding the nature and according to modern courses artists have to perceive and practice natural forms, afterward, they could only transform the order of nature through generating their own individual forms.

Later on, artists adjudge drawing as an independent field. this approach came to figurative artists of Iran and accelerated by a motto “Let’s go for drawing” The late professor of Iran Hannibal Alkhas is the one who made a huge effort on this vision and as the result, his students that are masters of today’s Iran contemporary art followed his way too.

Throughout the years this idea has been spread and some organizations shaped on the basis of originality of drawing and today it has been recognized absolutely by various installations and the presence of conceptual art also by associating with numerous artists from different cultures. this approach enlightens the being of a new vision about drawing, as like many other phenomena the look (appearance) always comes first to Iran and after that it’s content will be imported by translating from foreign sources which is an important challenge for artists through their theoretical route. the existence of logical issues and pre-fixed intentions are a kind of reception for the essence of intellectually perceiving the natural and realistic matters in an artwork.

There’s no doubt that Ahmad Vakili is one of the pioneers of this stream and approach to the art of drawing in his midlife, he is one of the most impactful artists of Iran’s contemporary art, he has many friends and students, trained hundreds of renowned artists in categories of painting and hand printing. he is bringing a collection of his works to Hoor Art Gallery, Tehran which is containing approximately 30 drawing pieces with a dip pen, ink, and charcoal technique also 4 paintings executed by the technique of acrylic on canvas.

Ahmad Vakili once again uses drawing as the main element of his works, insisting on his very own mindset.

Once he said in an interview that due to wrong training, pattern following has become very useful and important in Iran and artists consider following their last directions often more important than creativity, and as a conclusion, the term “Powerful Drawing” has emerged. the most delightful element of an artist is the creativity, meaning that, what can I offer (for the first time) on my own status as an artist and how could I add a new thing to the history of art in my career. this is such a severe fundamental principle that everything else just fades away and it should occur in drawing courses too and we must believe “I think, therefore I am”

Vakili’s intuition for the mankind is full of wisdom, intellectuality, and humanism and he considers the human a wholeness and as an artist, he has to deliver something new, but the question is how unfamiliar topics will arise? and by this emphasis on a wide conception such art or painting how far we could train and prepare creative students.

In his recent exhibition, he reviewed various potentials of different materials and by leaning on drawing and its purity he reaches painting. Definitely, he is painting for painters, understanding his mythical world could be possible by the constancy of perceiving his earlier works, artist’s visual symbols, and precise technique smoothly develop a new kind of aesthetically experience for public viewers. he is a kind of artist that believes the true understanding of visual expression could be achieved by educating a correct form of visual literacy.

Anyway, his consistency in his action and his viewpoint made him one of the most remarkable artists of Iran’s contemporary art scene, through the aspect behind this article he is an artist who reconsiders figurative art as an ultra-political state, although many of his students didn’t get any further than their master, but among them there are ones who walked their own individual path on this route and became dissimilar artists. we have to admit our contemporary vision in Iran about drawing owes a lot to Vakili and masters like him who flattened this direction.