Behjat Sadr

A pioneer in visual arts in Iran, Behjat Sadr created abstract oil paintings characterised by thick, layered colour strokes, sometimes using palette knife and her hand instead of brushes, depicting recurring shapes and geometric configurations. Influenced by the cities she lived in – Tehran, Rome and Paris – Sadr’s practice traced experimentation with media, simplicity and innovation associated with modernism and juxtapositions and complexities of the 20th century. One of the first women to emerge on the international biennale scene in the early 1960s, Sadr’s practice resonates with a sense of radicality, sensitive to the times of emancipation and insurrection. Inspired by the 1960s movements of Kinetic and Opt art, the artist experimented with mirror and light movement, compositions on wooden shutters and cloths. Her versatility further spreads to her play with small-scale photo-paintings and photomontage. Always searching for novelties in artistic expression, Sadr’s multifaceted practice was an ode to harmony, dynamics, shape and movement.