Ali Banisadr

Ali Banisadr is a contemporary artist focusing on abstract landscape painting fusing experiences as a refugee from the Iran-Iraq war with imagery drawn from Persian miniatures and mythology. Banisadr depicts fields of frenetic, abstract brushwork that reflect ideas of violence, chaos, displacement, and memory. His work has been compared to that of both Hieronymous Bosch and Willem de Kooning.

Life

Born in Tehran, Iran, in 1976, Ali Banisadr grew up during the Islamic revolution and the eight-year Iran-Iraq War forcing him and his family to relocate. In 1988, he and his family left Iran, first to Turkey and then to California. In 2000, he moved to New York City where he received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts in 2005, and his MFA from the New York Academy of Art in 2007 where he was awarded the post graduate fellowship followed by winning an award in painting from New York Foundation for the Arts. Since his first solo exhibition in 2008, Banisadr has exhibited in the United States and abroad and had several works housed in prestigious public collections worldwide including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Museum of Contemporary Art of Los Angeles, Saatchi Gallery in London and the British Museum among others. Banisadr currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Ali

Ali ibn Abi Talib (/ˈɑːli, ɑːˈliː/;Arabic: علي بن أبي طالب‎, translit. ʿAlī bin Abī Ṭālib, Arabic pronunciation: [ʕaliː bɪn ʔabiː t̪ˤaːlɪb]; 13 Rajab, 21 BH – 21 Ramadan, 40 AH; 15 September 601 – 29 January 661) was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, ruling over the Islamic caliphate from 656 to 661.

Born to Abu Talib and Fatima bint Asad, Ali was the only person born in the sacred sanctuary of the Kaaba in Mecca, the holiest place in Islam, as many sources, especially Shia ones say. Ali was the first young male who accepted Islam. After migrating to Medina, he married Muhammad's daughter Fatimah. Ali took part in the early caravan raids from Mecca and later in almost all the battles fought by the nascent Muslim community. He was appointed caliph by Muhammad's Companions (Sahaba) in 656, after caliph Uthman ibn Affan was assassinated. Ali's reign saw civil unrest and in 661, he was attacked and assassinated by a Kharijite while praying in the Great Mosque of Kufa, dying two days later.

Abolhassan Banisadr

Sayyed Abolhassan Banisadr ( pronunciation  ; Persian: سیِّدابوالحسن بنی‌صدر‎‎; born 22 March 1933) is an Iranian politician, economist and human rights activist. He was the first President of Iran after the 1979 Iranian Revolution abolished the monarchy, serving from 4 February 1980 until he was impeached by parliament on 21 June 1981. Prior to his presidency, he was the minister of foreign affairs in the interim government. He has resided for many years in France.

Early life and education

Banisadr was born on 22 March 1933 in Hamedan. His father was an ayatollah and close to Ruhollah Khomeini. He studied finance and economics at the Sorbonne. In 1972, Banisadr's father died and he attended the funeral in Iraq where he first met Ayatollah Khomeini.

Banisadr had participated in the anti-Shah student movement during the early 1960s and was imprisoned twice, and was wounded during an uprising in 1963. He then fled to France. He later joined the Iranian resistance group led by Khomeini, becoming one of his hard-liner advisors. Banisadr returned to Iran together with Khomeini as the revolution was beginning in February 1979. He wrote a book on Islamic finance, Eghtesad Tohidi, an Arabic phrase that roughly translates as "The Economics of Monotheism."

Thaddaeus Ropac

Thaddaeus Ropac (born in 1960,January 16, Klagenfurt, Austria), is a gallerist specializing in International Contemporary art. He founded Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in 1983 and represents more than 60 International artists today with his galleries in Salzburg (Austria), Paris Marais and Pantin (France).

Ropac was raised in Carinthia, Austria's southernmost state. He initially unearthed his passion for art on a school trip to the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna Museum of Art) and went on to serve his first internship with Joseph Beuys in 1982. While in New York, Ropac became acquainted with young artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Robert Mapplethorpe.

Gallery

Ropac opened his first gallery in Salzburg at the age of 23 in 1983, followed by a second one in Paris Marais seven years later. Launched in 1990 with one exhibition room, Ropac's space today stretches across three floors on Rue Debelleyme in Paris's Marais neighborhood. Today his galleries represent some of the most important Austrian artists, such as Erwin Wurm, Hubert Scheibl, Gerwald Rockenschaub and Arnulf Rainer, as well as international artists like Georg Baselitz, Alex Katz, and Anselm Kiefer. In 2012, Ropac renovated a 1900 former heating systems factory in Pantin, in the east of Paris, and transformed its eight buildings to make exhibition halls, a performance centre, a library/archive, a viewing room and artists’ studios.

Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac

The Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac was founded in 1983 by Austrian gallerist Thaddaeus Ropac and has specialized in International contemporary art. With its galleries in Paris Marais, Pantin (France) and Salzburg (Austria) Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac represents around sixty artists including very established names, mid-career artists and emerging young talents as well as several renowned estates.

History

From its origin in Salzburg, the gallery now holds three distinctive venues, two of which are located in the Paris region. Since 1983 Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac has established itself in Salzburg located in the Villa Kast, a 19th-century townhouse in the picturesque setting of the Mirabell Garden and the historical centre. In March 2010, the gallery opened Salzburg Halle, an additional exhibition space spreading over 4,000 m² within an industrial building close to the city centre of Salzburg. In 1990, Thaddaeus Ropac opened his primary Paris space in the Marais. Today, the gallery space spans four floors with a 1000m2 exhibition surface that also includes an extensive Drawings Department. His newest and largest exhibition venue was inaugurated in October 2012 in Pantin located in the northeast of Paris showing monumental artworks as part of comprehensive exhibitions.