TEHRAN – A number of veteran Iranian artists will display their artworks inspired by poetry of Persian classical poet Omar Khayyam (1048-1131) in an exhibition opening in Tehran’s Silk Road gallery on Friday.

Filmmakers, actors, painters and illustrators including Abbas Kiarostami, Mohammad Ehsai, Farshid Mesqali, Pariyoush Ganji, Farah Osuli, Ebrahim Haqiqi, Reza Kianian, and Shadi Qadirian will display their collections of artworks in an exhibit named “Secrets of Eternity”.

“The initial idea was proposed by Kiarostami and we later invited other interested individuals to create works with the central theme of Khayyam for the exhibit,” Gallery director Anahita Qabaian said in a press release on Monday.

“The poetry of Khayyam is accessible due to their concepts and short forms, and the central issues touched upon in the poetry are quite interesting for non-Iranians as well,” she added.

“Khayyam is one of the most widely known poets in the history of Persian classics whose rubaiyat (quatrains) has been translated into several languages around the world. His thoughts and works have long been the source of inspiration for artists from different countries, but this is the first time Iranian artists have worked on a collection of works inspired by Khayyam,” she asserted.

“The concepts are universal and people can easily connect with the poetry. We also plan to showcase this exhibit outside Iran to give visitors a chance to explore the roots of the rich culture of Iran,” she explained.

Due to the large number, the artworks will be shown in two exhibits, the first of which will open on Friday and run for one month, and the second will open afterwards at the gallery located at 210 Keshavarz Blvd., she concluded.

Omar Khayyam, a Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet was renowned in his own country and in his own time for his scientific achievements, but is chiefly known to English-speaking readers through the translation by the English writer Edward Fitzgerald of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.

Photo: A statue of Omar Khayyam, Neyshabur

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