TEHRAN – Veteran painter Hassan Yaquti has said that his new collection promotes a heavenly life on the earth.

“Clouds are the central theme of eight works from the collection,” Yaquti told the Persian service of MNA on Tuesday at the Zemestan Gallery of the Iranian Artists Forum, which is displaying the collection in a solo exhibition.

“I drew the clouds closer to the earth to symbolically tell the visitors that the earth is not a place where we cannot live in a heavenly fashion,” he added.

“If you take a look at the rest of the works, you will see that they also instil the same message in the visitors,” he explained.

He named the exhibition “Desirousness and Isolation”, which is the title of a book by contemporary Iranian philosophy scholar Mostafa Malekian. The collection also contains a portrait of Malekian.  

The collection mainly focuses on nature. “I suppose that as much as we become closer to nature we still feel isolated from the truth,” Yaquti said.

“The collection generally is self-expression and I see my personality when I cast a glance at the works,” he added.

Ten works from the series were sold on the opening day of the exhibition. “That is great when my works can attract customers and find their ways into people’s homes,” Yaquti stated.

The exhibition will run until April 25.  

Photo: Painter Hassan Yaquti poses during an exhibition of his works at the Zemestan Gallery of the Iranian Artists Forum in Tehran on April 18, 2017. (Jamejamonline/Chavosh Homavandi)

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