Sohrab Sepehri

Sepehri's partial representation of tree trunks to indicate the whole tree was intentional, and symbolic of his introspection and state of mind. To Sepehri minimalism wasn't just an artistic tool but a reflection of his emotional and psychological condition. The Tree Trunks Series was painted during a spell in New York when he was working on major commissions for museums and was under a great deal of pressure. The repetition of the image was a practical method for Sepehri in his desire to achieve a sense of unity and completion. The trees were a solace to the artist, in which he found a simplicity that put him at ease, they became an escape from the hustle of Manhattan, and the pressures on his time. This desire to retreat to his home of desert and trees that manifested itself in this cycle of paintings, is attested by his immediate withdrawal to Tehran and then to Kashan on completion of the commissions.

Both his technique and the mystical aspect of his painting was heavily informed, not just by the landscape, miniature painting and Sufism of his homeland, but also by the time he spent in Tokyo during the 1960s. Whilst in Japan, Sepehri was exposed to Japanese Haikus as well as the ancient paintings of Japan's medieval masters, such as Sesshu Toyo and Hakuin Ekaku. From them Sepehri learnt the flattening of space, dark outlines and earthy palette for which he became known.

One of the most highly acclaimed and reserved of Iran's modern masters, Sohrab Sepehri, poet and artist, has left an indelible mark on the Iranian art scene. His untimely death was keenly felt by his friends and family, and was a significant loss to his milieu, both literary and artistic. Sepehri's shy retiring character found expression in these lyrical paintings of trees and landscapes, and his poet's sensibility is immortalised in the soft brush strokes and tempered palette.