Reza Mafi (Iranian, 1943-1982)

Reza Mafi came from a family of calligraphers and was himself a teacher of that art. In his paintings he experimented with the expressive qualities of nasta'liq, a hanging script developed in Iran during the fifteenth century which subsequently became the script of choice in almost all Persian poetic manuscripts. By focusing on the hanging tails of the letters, he reduced the script to its essentials to create a variety of expressive abstractions which as his style developed became increasingly minimalistic and elegant.
This is a very fine example of his group of three-dimensional works, reminiscent of molded Persian tiles of previous centuries.