Hassan Meshkinfam: Biography

Hassan Meshkinfam (b. 1333/1954) is a very well established Iranian artist. He is a native son of Shiraz who was educated both in Iran and at the Besancon School of Fine Arts in Paris. Since 1981 he has established The Gallery of Modern Art in Shiraz, where he teaches painting. His art works and photographs have ornamented numerous exhibitions both nationally and internationally. Born in a gifted family of artists, Hassan’s interest in art began at a relatively early age, taking after his father’s artistic creations and participating in the literary and artistic circles of artisans and literary figures with whom his father had regular sessions.

For the past thirty years Meshkinfam has continued to engage in the teaching and practice of the art of painting. He has also put on display numerous domestic and international art shows and has published various albums of his works. Among his most outstanding commitment and contributions to art and to his city is the creation in 2003 the first private museum of visual arts in Iran. The Meshkinfam Museum is in his home town of Shiraz and his joint volume with Dr. Gholam Vatandoust of AUK entitled The Meshkinfam Museum of Art: The First Private Museum of Visual Arts in Iran is a tribute to such an effort.

Meshkinfam’s paintings can be divided into two periods. The first incorporates his paintings of nature which includes impressionistic works of landscapes, which tend towards pointillism. In this section the technique of watercolor is predominant. The second is more symbolic and incorporates his works after 1991. These works are reflections of his creative mind based on the poetical works of the internationally acclaimed Iranian poet, Nima Yushij. His art of photography is described in detail in the aforementioned volume.

Among his published works are two albums of paintings and two albums of photographs. The creation of the Meshkinfam Museum of Visual Arts, the first private Museum of its kind in Iran, is a unique and monumental effort by a single person to help preserve and promote the cultural heritage of a city regarded as the cultural capital of Persia. It is also a reflection of Meshkinfam’s dedication to the art and cultural of his homeland.