All human societies have been shaped by continuous imaginations, with lies that generate power and powers that generate fear.
At times, I contemplate that human is a disappointing species.
A creature that destroys out of fear and then considered it a victory, recording it.
A respectful burial is only worthy of those who were never born.
– Ali Esmaeillou
Mixed media on board 85 × 115 cm 2021
Mixed media on board 55 × 100 cm 2021
Mixed media on canvas 120 × 120 cm 2021
2020 – AN UNIDENTIFIED CORPSE NEARBY
Seyhoun Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Sometimes I watch crowd excitation, man is just a mortal effort
An attempt to be and an attempt to identify with being.
Sometimes it also cannot be
Sometimes you are not what you are
Sometimes you are just a bag full of paper
Sometimes you are just an unidentified corpse nearby.
– Ali Esmaeillou
Mixed Media on Canvas 150 × 100 cm 2020
Mixed Media on Canvas 140 × 140 cm 2020
Mixed Media on Canvas 100 × 150 cm 2020
2018 – ARCHETYPES
Seyhoun Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Humans have an unconscious part that is unknown to humans which contains all the experiences of previous generations, including our animal and herbaceous ancestors.
This collective unconscious includes the evolutionary experiences of the world which forms the basis of human personality. As a matter of fact, this part is the oldest force of personality. The hereditary tendencies of this collective unconscious are called archetypes.
Sometimes I think humans are the most living archetypes, while they tear to continue to survive, continue to destroy. Meanwhile, they are still captivated by their inner illusions, they are proud of their power with obvious fear.
– Ali Esmaeillou
Mixed Media on Board 40 × 55 cm 2018
Mixed Media on Board 40 × 55 cm 2018
Mixed Media on Board 40 × 55 cm 2018
Mixed Media on Board 40 × 55 cm 2018
2018 – ART PARIS ART FAIR
GRK Gallery, Paris, France
Art Paris Art Fair is a modern and contemporary art fair created in 1999.
Art Paris Art Fair 2018 brought together 140 galleries that present more than 990 artists from 73 countries.
Oil on board – 40×55 cm – 2018
2015 – Testament
Seyhoun Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
It seems that there have long been people in all human societies who have enough foresight and wisdom to understand the inevitability of their death and accept it, which causes the first signs of death management to appear.
A will is not limited to expressing an opinion and issuing a verdict, but also includes a special form of these cases that is related to a person on their death bed.
The personal look of an individual on the verge of extinction who wants to make a change in the future of those who are living.
– Ali Esmaeillou
Oil on canvas 70 × 100 cm 2015
Oil on canvas 100 × 150 cm 2015
Oil on canvas 70 × 100 cm 2015
Oil on canvas 100 × 150 cm 2015
2015 – Opening Ceremony of Persian young artist "HOPE, DREAM, DESIRE"
Stattbad Art & Culture Center, Berlin, Germany
In different periods, human beings have had the right to choose the type of expression of their thoughts, which as it gets closer to today's more complex social system, the size, quality, and manner of this expression is more limited and more conservative.
In most societies, somehow, it leads to accompany with the dictatorship pressure of the majority.
A dual and contradictory statement, while opposed, agrees, while wanting it with the cohesive inside force, rejects it.
The human species is the outcome of endless external errors and unpresentable internal truths.
– Ali Esmaeillou
Oil on canvas – 140×180 cm – 2014
Oil on canvas – 140×180 cm – 2014
Oil on canvas – 140×180 cm – 2014
Oil on canvas – 140×180 cm – 2014
2015 – THE CULTURAL EVENT “LUZERNER KUNSTHOCH”
AB Gallery Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland – 29.08.2015
This event featured contemporary Iranian painters in a collective presentation at Kunsthoch Luzern. The artworks showcased were previously featured in Berlin, emphasizing the thematic continuation between two international events.
Official poster of Kunsthoch Luzern
Installation view – artworks by Ali Esmaeillou
Visitors viewing Ali’s paintings
2014 – THIRTEEN
Iranshahr Art Lounge, Tehran, Iran
All human beings have a land that has ruled under the most brutal dictatorship of their selves.
Sometimes human beings change the facts in such a way to satisfy their inner needs and external personality appearance.
However, that land will always remain under that dictatorship until that government spreads to the real world.
– Ali Esmaeillou
Oil on canvas 150 × 100 cm 2013
Oil on canvas 150 × 100 cm 2013
Oil on canvas 200 × 150 cm 2013
2014 – OSTEN BIENNIAL OF DRAWING
World Gallery of Drawing 42, Skopje, Macedonia – 2014
OSTEN is a recognizable brand in the area of art, emancipated thought and liberated creation since 1945.
As great art admirer and passionate art collector, through the World Gallery of Cartoons and the World Gallery of Drawing, OSTEN makes room for the artists of the world.
Pencil on paper – 30×13 cm – 2014
Pencil and gold leaf on paper – 25×50 cm – 2014
OSTEN Biennial 2014 – First Selection listing
2013 – THE WAR OF THE WARRIORS OF MY LAND
Siin Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
All human beings live and think in two worlds. First inside and then, the inner manifestation would be revealed on the outside, and we see the output of the inner selves as a person's social behavior.
Sometimes human beings create a thought in their mind and try to prove it to the exterior society and create a social structure based on their inner selves.
This is the war of the warriors of my Land.
– Ali Esmaeillou
Oil on canvas 150 × 100 cm 2013
Oil on canvas 150 × 100 cm 2013
Oil on canvas 150 × 100 cm 2013
Oil on canvas 150 × 100 cm 2013
2011 – BELLS OF SHAHNAMEH
Tehran Art Center Galleries, Tehran, Iran
Human is always suffering from repetition and continuity, and each time he shows his repetition achievement in a new way and then transfers his sealed heritage to another period of history.
It seems that by nature man will not get out of this cycle, only the appearances will change. The old works remain as a tool to record the past and a starting point for a new repetition in time.
– Ali Esmaeillou
Oil on canvas – 300×150 cm – 2011
Oil on canvas – 250×150 cm – 2011
Oil on canvas – 250×150 cm – 2011
Oil on canvas – 150×100 cm – 2011
2009 – Solo Exhibition
Seyhoun Art Gallery, Los Angeles, California, USA
Oil on canvas – 150×100 cm – 2009
Oil on canvas – 150×100 cm – 2009
Oil on canvas – 150×100 cm – 2009
2004 – FESTIVAL OF ART CENTER OF NIAVARAN
Niavaran Art Center, Tehran, Iran – 2004
This festival included selected Iranian artists across painting, sculpture, and design. Two of Ali Esmaeillou's early paintings were exhibited in the painting section of the event.
Oil on canvas – 120×100 cm – 2004
Oil on canvas – 70×90 cm – 2004
2003 – IRANIAN ARTIST FORUM FESTIVAL
Iranian Artists Forum, Tehran, Iran – 2003
This festival hosted a group of young Iranian painters, including Ali Esmaeillou, showcasing early architectural-inspired oil paintings that reflected his emerging fascination with traditional Iranian design.
