Aliakbar Sadeghi

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.

Resume

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