Sadegh Tabrizi

He was born in 1939, Tehran, Iran and studied miniature painting at secondary school, after which he worked in the ceramic workshop of the Administrative Office of Fine Arts. He then enrolled at the newly formed College of Decorative Arts in Tehran, studying with fellow artists Massoud Arabshahi (whom he held a joint exhibition with in 1961 at the France Club), Faramarz Pilaram, Mansour Ghandriz, and Hossein Zenderoudi. During that time, Tabrizi had access to the College's library and was encouraged to explore the visual culture of Iran's past as a source of inspiration. Graduating in 1964, he continued his studies with an MA in interior design.

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As a result of Tabrizi’s contemporary reinterpretation of folk art, traditional Persian miniatures and Qajar painting, he was soon linked to the ‘Saqqakhaneh School’, a group of artists that worked individually but were united in their exploration of Persian heritage as a key source of inspiration (other artists thought to have pioneered this approach include Parviz Tanavoli, Pilaram, Arabashahi and Zenderoudi). Tabrizi focused on creating calligraphic compositions, an important aspect of the ‘Saqqakhaneh’ trend, since 1970.

From the early 1960s to 2008, Tabrizi has participated in numerous group exhibitions in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, the US and Australia.