Mehdi Heidari, born 1957.
- Member of the American Ceramic Association and the European Craft Organisation.
- Advanced Ceramics courses, C.S.U.N. (California), 1996.
- Specialised course in Post Reduction, Montélimar, France, 1993.
- Honorary collaborator, “Hands On Clay” (USA), Middle-East Art Department.
- Teaching collaborations with universities and cultural-arts institutions.
- Tehran Pottery Biennial, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998 — Museum of Contemporary Art.
- Specialised Porcelain and Ceramics exhibition, 1991-1998 — Tehran International Fair.
- First and Second group shows of the Potters’ Association, Laleh Gallery.
- Solo show of pottery and glass, 1994.
- Golestan Gallery, 1999.
- Group show at Azadi Cultural Centre, Summer 2000.
Pottery and ceramic, and their use in architecture, have a history of several thousand years, and the valuable works that survive bear witness to architects' conscious use of this art. Low-reliefs, mosaic, turquoise and lapis glazes, mosaic tile-work, haft-rang (seven-colour) tiles, enamel and zarrin-fām (gold-lustre) tiles are a glimpse of the height of pottery in the history of Iranian art and architecture.
With the experience of predecessors and a study of the enduring works in mind, I too have directed my artistic activity toward that same golden age. Aware of the limited domestic information available, I travelled to France and the United States for further experience and learned new things in modern pottery and ceramic. In Katibeh studio, with my wife's help and a properly equipped workshop, I made the making of resilient bodies, suited to differing climatic and weather conditions, the foundation of my work.
In my first works, creating three-dimensional space through low-reliefs was central (the panel at Borj-e Armaghan). Metal and glass then entered my work to bring me closer to a newer sensibility (the entrance panel at the Ministry of Housing, and Borj-e Morvarid). For the metro project, based on applied design and public art, I drew on the haft-rang technique.
The use of Iranian gold lustre and its combination with photo-decal; lustres of gold, silver and other metals; and the pursuit of glazes with a metallic shimmer and imagined colours — like the alchemists — have become my daily preoccupation, of which the “Fish and Net” panel, with its hundreds of motifs, is an example. And the road still continues —
a road that passes through the elements of the human being, earth, fire and love; and the human being walks this road…
An exhibition of Mehdi Heidari’s work will shortly be held at Katibeh studio. Tel: 2716152, fax: 2706894. E-mail: KATIBEH@IROST.com
