Biography

CONTEMPORARY ARTIST, MASTER CALLIGRAPHER AND MUSICIAN

Franco-Iranian artist Bahman Panahi was born in 1967. He holds a Ph.D. in music and musicology, he is a visual artist, calligrapher and musician.

From his early childhood, he has been sensitive to the calligraphies that punctuated his environment. His first calligraphic gesture was in the air, tracing a line in space. At a very young age, he understood that calligraphy is a living art, where gesture is combined with rhythm in the search for balance and a consonant harmony, seeking to sublimate sentences, words and letters, whilst revealing their melodic dimension. This poetic conception led him naturally to highlight the resonances of calligraphy and music. Inspired by these two artistic practices, he has made them his vocation. From his teenage years onwards, he devoted his studies to that purpose. He was instructed by the great Iranian masters. At the age of nineteen, he began teaching calligraphy; he became not only master calligrapher but also musician.

His studies took him to France, where he deepened his research and developed the concept of Musicalligraphy in his doctoral thesis at Sorbonne University. In his work, Bahman Panahi consistently endeavoured to bring out this conceptual dimension of calligraphy.

This artistic practice, comprising both traditional and abstract calligraphic compositions, has allowed him to travel: exhibitions, concerts, artistic performances around the world, exchanges with international artists have all waymarked Bahman Panahi’s life and have lent him international prominence.

At the same time, he continues to teach calligraphy. Throughout the world, he delivers courses, runs workshops and contributes to conferences in prestigious locations. In the wake of his teaching, a school of calligraphy has formed and developed informally, gathering together the students whom he has initiated.

Photo : ©Golanz Gaeeni

Tribute

My calligraphy masters

Master

Gholâmhossein Amirkhâni

Master

Yadollah Kaboli

Master

Abdollah Foradi

Tribute

My music teachers

Master

Mohamed Réza Lotfi

Master

Houshang Zarif

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