Mansoureh Hosseini, a writer, art critic, ceramicist, and painter, was born in 1926 in Tehran. She graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran in 1949. Her works were first exhibited at the Iran–England Cultural Association. In 1954, Hosseini moved to Rome to continue her studies and attended the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma. Her works were shown at the Venice and Tehran Biennials, and she received the First Tehran Biennial Award in 1958. Hosseini’s artistic career developed in two phases: she initially focused on landscapes, flowers, and single portraits, and later moved toward a semi-abstract approach centered on movement, color, and script. Through her distinctive combination of painting and calligraphy, her work achieved a unique position among calligraphic painting practices. According to her own accounts, this direction emerged after her meeting with the Italian art historian and critic Lionello, which led her to incorporate Kufic script into her work and create abstract paintings. In addition to painting, she wrote numerous art critiques under a pseudonym for the Ettela’at newspaper beginning in 1967. Her works have been repeatedly presented and sold at the Tehran Auction and Christie’s. Hosseini passed away in 2012.
International Exhibitions and Events
1956
Participation in the Venice Biennale
1957
Exhibition at Galleria del Ventaglio, Rome, Italy
1962
Participation in the Venice Biennale, Italy
1962
Exhibition at the São Paulo Art Biennial, Brazil
1970
Participation in the Second UNESCO Festival (with Behjat Sadr, Gholam-Hossein Nami, and Mohammad-Reza Adnani), Tehran
Awards and Honors
1957
Gold Medal, Figurative Arts Exhibition, Italy
1958
Award Winner, Tehran Biennial
1960
Recipient of an Award from the Ministry of Culture and Arts
Professional Activities
1973
Founding of the “Mansoureh Hosseini” Gallery
Domestic Exhibitions and Events
2000
Participation in the Fifth Tehran Painting Biennial, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
2004
Exhibition, “Fifth Exhibition of Pioneers of Modern Iranian Art,” Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
Death and Posthumous Exhibitions
2012
Passing away in Tehran
After Her Death
2012
Group Exhibition, “In Memory of Mansoureh Hosseini: Another View,” Pardis Mellat Gallery, Tehran
2018
Group Exhibition, “The Splendor of Art 2,” Shokouh Gallery, Tehran
2019
Group Exhibition, “10–20–30,” Azad Gallery, Tehran
2020
Group Exhibition, “One by One,” Designers Free Gallery, Tehran
2021
Group Exhibition, “Collector 8,” Artibition Gallery, Tehran
2024
Group Exhibition, “Project One: Iranian Women Artists | Modern and Contemporary,” Ev Gallery, Tehran
