Mohammad Ali Taraghijah

Mohammad Ali Taraqqi Jah, a modern and self-taught Iranian painter, was born in 1943 in Tehran. He studied mechanical engineering but abandoned that path to pursue his dream of becoming an artist. Winning the gold medal at the Iranian Universities Art Competition in 1967 encouraged him to continue his artistic journey. His first solo exhibition was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in 1988. His first international show took place at the Basel International Art Fair in Switzerland, coinciding with the 1979 Revolution. Following this event, his works entered the international art scene and were presented in major art centers including New York, Tokyo, Delhi, Beijing, Paris, Zurich, Stuttgart, and others. In 1998, the International Museum of 21st Century Art (Timotca) in the United States exhibited his works as representatives of Iranian art. Today, some of his paintings are housed in renowned institutions such as the International Museum of 21st Century Art (USA), the Sharjah Museum of Modern Art, the World Museum in Rotterdam, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tehran. After many years of dedicated artistic activity, Ali Taraqqi Jah passed away in 2010 at the age of sixty-seven. Sabine Naghdi Daweh, Ph.D. in Art History and former expert at Sotheby’s, has described the relation between his paintings and the real world as follows: “His art is the outcome of his inner serenity. This artist effortlessly transforms realities into soothing linear compositions, with unique and beautiful stylized forms and harmoniously monochromatic backgrounds.”