TEHRAN -- Commenting on the title of the International Painting Biennial of the Islamic World, veteran Iranian painter Kazem Chalipa said that it is not clear if ‘Islamic world’ refers to the theme of the works or to the geographical region of the artists.

“The point whether the works are related to Islamic thought or to Islamic countries should be cleared up,” Chalipa told the Persian service of CHN on Sunday.

“This ambiguity makes some visitors say that the works are not related to Islamic thought, but based on my information, ‘Islamic world’ refers to geography,” he added.

The 4th International Painting Biennial of the Islamic World opened in Tehran at the Saba Art and Culture Complex on November 27.

Chalipa, who is the son of master Hassan Esmaeilzadeh, one of the last surviving Iranian teahouse painters, said that structurally, one culture dominates the works on display in the event.

“Perhaps this culture is understandable through modern art, but I don’t know if this is only limited to our country or applies to other countries as well,” he explained. Chalipa described the selection process of the biennial as well, saying, “Such exhibitions often show the expertise of our avant-garde art, although Iranian artworks not displayed in the exhibition should also be taken into consideration.”

A selection board comprised of Aidin Aghdashlu, Abdolmajid Hosseini-Rad, and Parviz Kalantari chose 1000 paintings out of 10,000 works sent to the biennial’s secretariat by artists from 35 countries.

The jury’s foreign members, Farhad Khalilov from Azerbaijan, Najat al-Mahdawi from Tunisia, and Tibari Kantour from Morocco, along with their Iranian counterparts Mohammad-Ali Tariqqijah, Habibollah Sadeqi, Mehdi Hosseini, Mohammad Fasunaki, and Mostafa Gudarzi, recently began judging the works of the event, which runs until December 21.