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Sohrab Sepehri, one of Iran’s most important modern painters and poets, was born in 1928 in Kashan. With a poetic and profound vision of nature and Eastern mysticism, he created unique and influential works. After finishing high school, he attended the Boys’ Primary Teachers’ College in Tehran while simultaneously working for the Ministry of Culture and Education in Kashan. His first poetry collection, Beside the Grass or the Tomb of Love, was published in 1947. In 1948, he met Manouchehr Sheybani, a pioneering poet and painter, whose friendship transformed Sepehri’s artistic path. Through Sheybani, Sepehri was introduced to Nima Yooshij and later enrolled in the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran to study painting. After graduating in 1953, Sepehri began teaching painting and expanded his artistic activities. Starting in 1957, he traveled extensively across Europe and Asia, experiences that profoundly influenced his artistic vision and style. In Paris, he studied lithography and connected with Hossein Zenderoudi. His participation in the first Tehran Biennial and the Venice Biennale, winning the second prize at the 1960 Tehran Biennial, and traveling to Japan to study woodblock printing were among the major milestones of his career. In 1976, he also took part in Art Basel in Switzerland. During the 1960s, Sepehri began teaching at the School of Decorative Arts and resigned from government jobs to focus entirely on painting and poetry. In this period, he created famous painting series such as Tree Trunks, and his works were exhibited in numerous shows across Iran and Europe. Sohrab Sepehri passed away in 1980 in Tehran and was buried in Mashhad Ardehal near Kashan.
Exhibitions and Artistic Activities
1945 – Solo exhibition, Seyhoun Gallery, Tehran
1951 – Publication of first poetry collection, The Death of Color
1953 – Participation in Tehran painting exhibitions
1953 – Collaboration with the art magazine Rooster’s Claw
1953 – Publication of the book The Life of Dreams
1961 – Solo exhibition, Reza Abbasi Hall, Tehran
1962 – Two solo exhibitions at Farhang Hall, Tehran
1963 – Solo exhibition at Golestan Film Studio, Tehran
1963 – Solo exhibition, Saba Gallery, Tehran
1963 – Group exhibition, Gigamesh Gallery, Tehran
1963 – Group exhibition, Nina Gallery, Tehran
1963 – Participation in São Paulo Biennial, Brazil
1963 – Group exhibition Contemporary Iranian Art, Le Havre Museum, France
1964 – Set designer for the play Iron, written and directed by Khojasteh Kia
1971 – Solo exhibition, Benson Gallery, New York
1971 – Solo exhibition, Lito Gallery, Tehran
1972 – Solo exhibition, Cyrus Gallery, Paris
1974 – Participation in the First Tehran International Art Exhibition
1976 – Art Fair: Contemporary Iranian Art, Art Basel, Switzerland
1978 – Solo exhibition, Seyhoun Gallery, Tehran
1999 – Selected works exhibited in Art 20: A Century of Modern Iranian Painting, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
1999 – Works exhibited in A New Look at Nature, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran
2011 – Group exhibition, Zoo, Shirin Gallery, Tehran
2014 – Group exhibition, Zoo, Shirin Gallery, Tehran
2016 – Group exhibition, Fiftieth Anniversary | Works by 5+50 Contemporary Iranian Artists, Seyhoun Gallery, Tehran
2018 – Group exhibition, Saqqakhaneh, Meem Gallery, Dubai
2018 – Group exhibition, Circular Garden of Memory, Barg Gallery, Tehran
2019 – Art Fair, Teer Art, presented by Valli Gallery, Tehran
2019 – Group exhibition, Roots, Aria Gallery, Tehran
2020 – Group exhibition, Collecting Virus, +2 Gallery, Tehran
2021 – Group exhibition, Collector 8, Artibition Gallery, Tehran
2021 – Group exhibition, A Rare Collection of Modern Iranian Art, Leila Heller Gallery, Dubai
2021 – Group exhibition, In Memoriam, Moo Collection of Contemporary Art, Tehran
2021 – Group exhibition, Archive 2, Artibition Gallery, Tehran
2022 – Group exhibition, Resize, Artibition Gallery, Tehran
2022 – Group exhibition, Lotfi: Intersection of Icons 2, Goveyeh Gallery, Tehran
2023 – Group exhibition, Resize, Artibition Gallery, Tehran
2025 – Group exhibition, Poets, Artibition Gallery, Tehran
