Mohammadali Bani Asadi

Mohammad-Ali Bani-Asadi is an illustrator, sculptor, and painter born in 1955 in Semnan, Iran. He moved to Tehran to continue his education and studied sculpture at the Kamal-ol-Molk Art School. From 1974, he worked for five years as an instructor at the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (Kanoon). He also earned a qualification in animation at the same institute. Bani-Asadi completed his bachelor’s degree in painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, studying under instructors such as Mohsen Vaziri-Moghaddam, Jalal Shabahangi, Marco Grigorian, and Morteza Momayez, and graduated in 1979, shortly before the Cultural Revolution and the closure of universities. He later began his professional work in illustration after completing a master’s degree in illustration. During the 1990s, Bani-Asadi created works featuring elements of animals and humans, while in the 2000s many of his works incorporated a form of calligraphy. In his more recent artistic practice, his works have moved away from a symbolic approach and become closer to realism. His illustrations for children’s and young adult books and magazines include Kayhan Bacheha, The Rainbow That Did Not Always Appear by Ahmadreza Ahmadi, The Colorful Garden and the Beautiful Flowers by Naser Kashavarz, and After Saying Hello by Mojgan Koleh. In 1989, he received a Special Illustration Award at a cartoon exhibition in France and has participated in numerous festivals inside and outside Iran. In 2012, Mohammad-Ali Bani-Asadi was also named among five selected artists nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award.