Lion, 2014

In Lion (2014), Parviz Tanavoli continues his lifelong engagement with one of the most enduring symbols of Persian culture. The lion—long associated with strength, guardianship, and authority in Iranian mythology and visual tradition—is reimagined here through a radically simplified and abstracted form.

Rather than depicting a single, unified figure, Tanavoli presents the lion as a sequence of fragmented, geometric shapes. The body appears disassembled and reconfigured, as if viewed from multiple moments or perspectives at once. This approach recalls the visual language of tribal textiles and ancient reliefs, where animals are often reduced to essential structural elements rather than naturalistic representations.

Woven in Bijar technique, the surface itself plays a crucial role in the work’s meaning. Bijar textiles are known for their density, durability, and architectural presence, qualities that echo the solidity and permanence traditionally associated with the lion motif. By translating this imagery into textile form, Tanavoli blurs the boundaries between fine art, craft, and cultural artifact.

Created in 2014, Lion belongs to Tanavoli’s mature period, in which his focus increasingly turned toward archetypal imagery and cultural memory. The work speaks not only to the persistence of symbols across time, but also to the artist’s ability to reinterpret them through modern abstraction without severing their historical roots.

Quiet, restrained, and intellectually rich, Lion exemplifies Tanavoli’s unique position in modern Iranian art—an artist who continuously bridges tradition and modernity through form, material, and meaning.