TEHRAN -- An exhibition of Qur’anic calligraphy and calligraphic painting by Iranian artist Vali Hassanpour will open on Friday, October 16, at Niavaran Cultural Centre in Tehran, presenting around 80 works created through an artistic practice shaped by spiritual contemplation and the experience of imprisonment.
Titled Inscriptions on Silence and Intuition, the exhibition will open at 4 p.m. in Gallery No. 2, according to an announcement by the public relations office of Niavaran Cultural Center.
The exhibition brings together approximately 80 works of Qur’anic calligraphy and calligraphic painting, incorporating traditional calligraphic techniques alongside acrylic, gouache and ink. Through these materials and approaches, Hassanpour explores the relationship between sacred text, visual expression and spiritual insight.
According to the organizers, Hassanpour established an art workshop at Ilam Central Prison while serving a sentence for an unintentional offence. He produced much of the work featured in the exhibition in that setting, drawing on what the organizers describe as a state of mystical intuition.
The exhibition also has a charitable dimension. The presentation and sale of the works are intended to help address the financial difficulties faced by Hassanpour and other individuals serving sentences for unintentional offences.
By bringing these works into a public gallery, the organizers aim to introduce Hassanpour’s artistic practice to a wider audience while creating an opportunity for visitors to support the artist and others in similar circumstances.
Inscriptions on Silence and Intuition will run from 16 to 23 October 2026 at Niavaran Cultural Centre.
The gallery is open from 10 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Fridays. The galleries remain closed on Saturdays.
The exhibition offers visitors an opportunity to encounter contemporary Iranian Qur’anic calligraphy through works that connect the written word with questions of spirituality, confinement and the possibility of artistic expression under difficult circumstances.