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Ali Akbar Sadeghi (born 1937, Tehran) is a prominent Iranian painter, animator, and illustrator whose works reflect a rich fusion of Iranian mythology, Qahvehkhaneh (coffeehouse) painting, and surrealist visual language. A graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran, he gained national and international recognition in the 1970s through animations such as Seven Cities, Face, Golbaran, and Coalition. His work received major honors, including the Gold Medal at the Tehran International Festival of Children’s Films (1972), the Noma Concours Grand Prize in Japan (1978), and an Honorary Diploma at the Odense International Film Festival in Denmark (1980). In the following decades, Sadeghi shifted his focus more fully toward painting. His works have been exhibited at major galleries and events, including Seyhoun Gallery, Golestan Gallery, Aaran Gallery, Niavaran Cultural Center, and Sabz Gallery (which he founded in 1989), as well as La Chaux-de-Fonds Gallery in Switzerland (1988). His art was also featured in the Abu Dhabi Art Fair (2016), Art Dubai (2018), and the Singapore Biennale (2019). In 2008, he was recognized as an “Eternal Figure” of Iranian art. In 2017, the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, in collaboration with the Ali Akbar Sadeghi Foundation, held a comprehensive retrospective exhibition marking six decades of his artistic career.
Solo Exhibitions
1988 — Exhibition, La Chaux-de-Fonds Gallery, Switzerland
1992 — Iran: The Land of..., Sabz Gallery, Tehran
2017 — A Retrospective of the Works and Life of Ali Akbar Sadeghi, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran
2019 — Demons, Kamil Monaco Gallery, Monaco
2019 — Étude, Hoar Gallery, Tehran
2022 — The Madman, Parallel Circuit, Tehran
2024 — Akbar, Dastan Basement, Tehran
2024 — From Paper to Canvas, Hoar Gallery, Tehran
2025 — Between the Lines, Hasht Cheshmeh Art Space, Kashan
2025 — Sacred Demons, Iranshahr Gallery, Tehran
Group Exhibitions, Biennials, and Events
1984 — Tribute to Parviz Fannizadeh, Niavaran Cultural Center, Tehran
1987 — Tribute to Asghar Mahmoudi, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran
1989 — Iranian Watercolorists Exhibition, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran
1990 — Tribute to Firooz Shirvanlou, Seihoun Gallery, Tehran
1991 — Iran Export Development Center, Tehran
1992 — An Exhibition for the People of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Niavaran Cultural Center, Tehran
1993 — Iran Export Development Center, Tehran
2014 — Zoo, Shirin Gallery, Tehran
2015 — Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair, Shirin Gallery, Turkey
2016 — Abu Dhabi Art Fair, Shirin Gallery, UAE
2017 — Amordad, Afrand Gallery, Tehran
2018 — Manifestation Frame, Iranian Artists Forum, Tehran
2018 — Open Sale, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran
2018 — Design as Living, Iranian Artists Forum, Tehran
2018 — Art Dubai Fair, Dastan Gallery, UAE
2018 — I Am Sohrab Sepehri, Didi Gallery Museum, Mazandaran
2018 — Moments, Nicolas Flamel Gallery, Paris
2018 — Nightglow 4, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran
2018 — Illustrated Book, Plus 2, Tehran
2018 — Illustrated Book, Dastan Basement, Tehran
2018 — Collector, Artibition Gallery, Tehran
2019 — Singapore Biennale
2019 — Ten, Twenty, Thirty, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran
2019 — Illustration Week, Iranian Artists Forum, Tehran
2019 — Versions, Aria Gallery, Tehran
2020 — Versions, Aknoon Gallery, Isfahan
2020 — Masters of Iranian Art, Negah Gallery, Tehran
2020 — Outlook, Javid Gallery, Tehran
2020 — One by One, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran
2021 — A Rare Collection of Modern Iranian Art, Leila Heller Gallery, Dubai
2021 — Veterans of Art, Negah Gallery, Tehran
2021 — Basketball Becomes Iranian, Nicolas Flamel Gallery, Paris
2021 — Liam Collection, Liam Gallery, Tehran
2021 — Face to Face, Javid Gallery, Tehran
2021 — Mirror in the Mirror, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
2021 — Soft Edge of the Blade, Dastan Outside Projects, London
2021 — Season of Flowers, Talar Space, Tehran
2022 — Resize, Artibition Gallery, Tehran
2022 — Modernism Collector, Artibition Gallery, Tehran
2022 — Essay – Search, EX Homa, Tehran
2022 — Art Dubai Fair, Dastan Basement, Dubai
2023 — Realism, Dastan Outside Projects, London
2023 — Landscape, Parallel Circuit, Tehran
2023 — Root, Shaakhe Tooba Gallery, Tehran
2023 — Lotfi: Intersection and Celebrities 3, Govieh Gallery, Tehran
2023 — Selected Works from 70 Years of Iranian Sculpture, Art Center, Tehran
2023 — Event: Contemporary Iranian Art and Changing Realities, Bavan Gallery, London
2023 — Soft Edge of the Blade, Part 2, Zaal Gallery, Toronto
2023 — Point of View, E1 Gallery, Tehran
2023 — Niyan Gallery, Tehran
2023 — Veterans of Art Exhibition, Negah Gallery, Tehran
2023 — Environmental Perspective, The Mine, Tehran
2024 — A Collection, Plus 2, Tehran
2024 — Collector, Artibition Gallery, Tehran
2024 — Dorous, Issue 34, Artibition Gallery, Tehran
2024 — Cock-a-Doodle-Doo, Negah Gallery, Tehran
2024 — Object/Painter, Avapalette, Tehran
2024 — Imagined Landscape, Plus 2, Tehran
2024 — Form and Figure, Ev Gallery, Tehran
2024 — A Tale of Two Cities, H Gallery, Tehran
2024 — Confession: A Journey from Within to Without, Vista Gallery, Tehran
2024 — Painting Exhibition, Javid Gallery, Tehran
2025 — Fragments of Iranian Modernity, Foundry, Dubai
Awards and Honors
1970 — First Prize for Best Illustration in Asia for the book The Champion of Champions
1972 — Gold Plaque from the 7th International Festival of Children and Youth Films
1973 — Award from Tampere Film Festival, Finland
1973 — Honorary Prize from Los Angeles and San Francisco Film Festivals
1974 — Gandhi Peace Prize, Berlin Film Festival for Vanity
1974 — Award from the Soviet Artists’ Union
1985 — First Place in the First Iranian Graphic Designers Exhibition
1989 — Illustration Prize for the book Victory, Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults
2004 — Special Jury Prize at the IIDCYA Festival
The group exhibition "Contemporary Collector" with works of well-known visual art artists will be displayed on Friday, July 8, at Artibishan Gallery.
