Mohammad Ehsai

(Iran, born 1939)

Untitled

Footnotes

Provenance:
Property from a private collection, Geneva


Born in Qazvin, Iran in 1939, Mohammad Ehsai is one of the most distinguished figures in contemporary Iranian art. His artistic foundation was rooted in the classical discipline of Persian calligraphy, where he mastered traditional scripts such as Nastaliq and Mohaqqaq, both central to Islamic and Persian cultural heritage.

In 1966, Ehsai enrolled at the University of Tehran, where he studied fine art alongside calligraphy. This combination of modern art education and classical technique became the defining feature of his practice. By 1971 he had joined the university's faculty, helping to shape a new generation of artists at a time when Iranian modernism was flourishing.

Ehsai's work explores the intersection of script and abstraction. Although based on legible Persian writing, his compositions move beyond literal meaning into dynamic visual expressions of rhythm, form, and movement. The viewer is invited to experience his calligraphy not just as text but as a visual and spiritual encounter.

Over his long career, Ehsai has completed numerous public commissions, including large murals for significant cultural and diplomatic buildings such as the Iranian Embassy in Abu Dhabi. His works are also held in major international collections, including the British Museum, the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, and the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art.

In recent years, Ehsai completed an extraordinary decade-long project inscribing the entire Qur'an in the Mohaqqaq script, reaffirming his mastery of one of the most revered calligraphic traditions in the Islamic world.

Ehsai's art balances tradition and innovation, transforming Persian letters into bold, sculptural forms that celebrate both the written word and the expressive potential of abstraction. His work stands as a bridge between the deep heritage of Persian calligraphy and the evolving language of contemporary art.