TEHRAN -- An exhibition by master sculptor and painter Hannibal Alkhas was opened during a ceremony at the Iranian Artists Forum (IAF) on his 80th birthday on Friday.

Art students are holding various programs during a 12-day celebration of the birthday of their teacher beginning on June 11. His actual birth date falls on June 13.
The event started on Friday evening with the opening of the exhibition which showcases almost 250 paintings and sculptures featuring works by Alkhas from 1961 to 2001.
The opening ceremony was attended by several artists and students as well as art scholars.
Actress Gohar Kheirandish, one-time student of Alkhas at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Tehran, described him as an active, thoughtful artist who has a deep connection with Iranian concepts.
She also pointed to Alkhas’ latest work which is a remake of the Persian epic tragedy of Rustam and Sohrab with a new Assyrian happy ending.
“He has painted his life in his works so all we know what he desires. He wants to remind all humankind of the simple life,” she mentioned.
“When I read the combat of Rustam and Sohrab in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, I wept for Sohrab (Rustam’s only son) who was killed by his father. So I decided to bring the story to a different end,” Alkhas mentioned about his project.
He went on to say that the story continues on to the modern world of today where they even travel to the United States to save the American Indians. His words were followed by applause from the audience.
At the ceremony, scholar Musa Akrami talked about the philosophy of painting and Firuzeh Sheibani discussed Iranian paintings of the past 50 years and the influence of Hannibal on painting.
The celebration will come to an end on June 23 with a talk by sculptor Hamid Shans followed by a live music performance. All programs are open to the public.
The son of Assyrian writer Rabi Adai Alkhas, Hannibal was born in 1930 in Kermanshah, Iran. He moved to the United States in 1951 where he attended the Art Institute of Chicago from 1953 to 1959 and earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in fine art. He now teaches at different campuses of the Islamic Azad University in Iran.