Akbar Behkalam
Encyclopedia
Biography
Akbar Behkalam was born in TabrizTabriz
Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
in 1944, the capital of the Iranian
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
province East Azerbaijan. From 1961 until 1964 he studied art at Tabriz art school. After his military service he moved to Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, where he enrolled at the Mimar Sinan University in Fine Arts and became the student of professor Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu
Bedri Rahmi Eyüboglu
Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu was a Turkish painter and poet.Bedri Rahmi was born 1911 in Görele on the Black Sea. He was the second child of a family with five. His elder brother, Sabahattin Eyuboglu, is a well-known writer and his younger sister, Mualla Eyüboğlu, was one of the first architects working...
. From 1972 until 1974 he lived in different European cities, such as Paris, Frankfurt, Rome and Berlin. 1974 he went back to Iran, to teach at the Tabriz art school. Since 1976 Behkalam lives in Berlin and as of 1989 he has a studio in Brandenburg. He is married and has two children.
Art
Akbar Behkalam's works often deal with political subjects. His early works are influenced by the New European RealismRealism
Realism, Realist or Realistic are terms that describe any manifestation of philosophical realism, the belief that reality exists independently of observers, whether in philosophy itself or in the applied arts and sciences. In this broad sense it is frequently contrasted with Idealism.Realism in the...
, in a symbiosis with Persian miniature painting
Miniature painting
Miniature painting may refer to:* Miniature * Persian miniature* Ottoman miniature* Portrait miniature* Painting miniature figures used in wargaming or role-playing games...
. His later works, up to present time can be described as abstract-expressive. A focal point of his works is the depiction of the formation and choreography of mass movements.
One recurring theme in his works is the turbulent history of his home country Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
: the series "Persepolis" (1977-1979) deals with old Persian iconography, that is confronted with the depiction of the execution squads of the Shah
Shah
Shāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...
-regime. In the eighties he produced the series "Justice in Allah's Name", that has the religiously legitimized human rights violations of the Islamic Republic
Islamic republic
Islamic republic is the name given to several states in the Muslim world including the Islamic Republics of Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Mauritania. Pakistan adopted the title under the constitution of 1956. Mauritania adopted it on 28 November 1958. Iran adopted it after the 1979 Iranian...
as its central theme.
From 1984-1986 Behkalam did extensive research on the German revolution of 1848 and produced several large scale paintings on that subject that were presented in his solo exhibition at the Staatliche Kunsthalle Berlin in 1986.
Behkalam has shown his works in many exhibitions in Europe, Asia and North and South America. In 2009 he has been the winner of the Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
Biennial in Uzbekistan.
Solo exhibitions (selection)
- 1975 Seyhun Gallery Tehran, Iran
- 1981 Kunstamt Kreuzberg-Bethanien, Berlin, Germany
- 1982 Kunstverein Offenbach, Germany
- 1982 Städtische Galerie Schloß Oberhausen, Germany
- 1987 Staatliche Kunsthalle Berlin, Germany
- 1987 Städtische Galerie Schloß Oberhausen
- 1987 Museum Bochum, Germany
- 1987 Stadtgalerie Saarbrücken, Germany
- 1988 Übersee Museum BremenÜbersee Museum BremenThe Übersee Museum Bremen is a Natural History and Ethnographic museum in Bremen, Germany. In an integrated exhibition, Nature, Culture and Trading, it presents aspects of overseas regions with permanent exhibitions relating to Asia, South Pacific/Oceania, Americas and Africa.-History:In 1875,...
, Germany - 1989 California State UniversityCalifornia State UniversityThe California State University is a public university system in the state of California. It is one of three public higher education systems in the state, the other two being the University of California system and the California Community College system. It is incorporated as The Trustees of the...
, Los Angeles, USA - 1990 Phoebe Conley Art Gallery, Fresno, USA
- 1991 International Gallery on Broadway, Los Angeles, USA
- 1991 Workshop III, Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, Brazil
- 1993 Villa Oppenheim, Berlin, Germany
- 1998 Gallery Georges Pompidou, Anglet/ Frankreich (with Bernd Kaute and Johannes HeisigJohannes HeisigJohannes Heisig is a German painter and graphic artist. His work combines the tradition of German socialist realism with a subjective expressionism...
) - 2005 Spreeport, Ver.di, Berlin
- 2006 Kunsthalle Arnstadt (with Dorsten Klauke and Trak Wendisch)
- 2010 Galerie Linneborn, Berlin
Group exhibitions (selection)
- 1977 Hommage à Nazim Hikmet, Kunstamt Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany
- 1980 Künstler gegen den Krieg, NGBK, Berlin, Germany
- 1981 30 Jahre BBK, Staatliche Kunsthalle Berlin, Germany
- 1983 1933 - Wege zur Diktatur, Staatliche Kunsthalle Berlin, Germany
- 1983 300 Jahre danach, Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts, Wien, Austria
- 1983 Eine Woche im September, Galerie Hilger, Wien, Austria
- 1984 Rationalisierung, Staatliche Kunsthalle Berlin, Germany
- 1984 Otto-Nagel Preis 1984, Rathaus Wedding, Berlin, Germany
- 1984 Ich lebe in Deutschland, Städtisches Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany
- 1984 Goethe Institut Brüssel; Galerie Schöneberg Berlin, Germany
- 1984 Der Krieg trifft jeden ins Herz, Palast der Künste, Minsk, Russia
- 1986 Das andere Land, Groß Orangerie, Schloß Charlottenburg, Berlin / Museum Bochum / Paulskirche, Frankfurt/Main / Stadtgalerie Saarbrücken; Kultur unterm Turm, Germany
- 1986 15 Berliner Künstler in Brasilien, Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo / Museu de Arte do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
- 1986 Berliner Stadtansichrten, Wien, Amsterdam, Nimwegen, London, Istanbul, Paris, Bonn, Berlin
- 1987 15 Berliner Künstler in Brasilien, Paco Imperial, Rio de Janeiro / Centro de Convencoes, Recife, Brazil
- 1987-1988 Momentaufnahme (Wanderausstellung durch Brasilien) Joao Pessoa, Paraiba / Museo de Arte Contemporana / Blumenau, Porto Alege, Sao Paulo, Curitiba / Caracas, Venezuela
- 2009 5th Taschkent Biennial, Uzbekistan. First Prize.