Bahman Mohasses

Bahman Mohassess was an Iranian painter, sculptor, translator, printmaker and theatre director. His oeuvre comprises paintings, sculptures and collages. Known as "the irreverent" artist, Mohasses is said to have destroyed many of his own works, and those that become available at auction are now highly sought after. Mohassess is the most prominent artist who was openly gay in Iran, which is still stigmatized. He was the subject of the Mitra Farahani film documentary, Fifi Howls from Happiness (2013).

Career
He returned to Iran in 1964 and participated in Venice, São Paulo and Tehran Biennale.

Mohasses directed plays, including Pirandello's Henry IV at Goethe Institute and Ghandriz Gallery in Tehran. He also translated books of a number of authors, including Eugène Ionesco, Malaparte and Pirandello.

He stayed in Iran until 1968, before returning to Rome, where he received commissions for statutes to be placed in Tehran. Some of his public works in Iran were destroyed or damaged after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, with the artist subsequently destroying all his remaining works in Iran. He occasionally travelled to Iran and died in self-imposed seclusion in Rome in 2010.

Text courtesy of Wikipedia, 2024