Another Life
The 21st of july 2025, marked the 40th day of Bahman Rezaei’s passing. The funeral of Master Rezaei was held one day before the severe war broke out in our country, overshadowing everyone’s lives. Unfortunately, after the recent events, the news of losing this great artist faded from memory in the shadow of war and our country’s problems. I consider this writing a valuable opportunity to keep his memory alive.
Bahman Rezaei was an unasuming and wise artist. He was primarily known for his work in Caricature, but he was a true painter, and this quality distinguished his work from his peers. Throughout his career, Rezaei never stopped learning. Out of interest, he began learning watercolor and miniature painting and beautifully blended these two techniques into his work. He was thoughtful and concerned, he avoided creating art that relied on daily news and would be discarded with the headlines to the dustbin of history, he created art which went further than a sketch of social news. He boldly pursued concepts that never get old and created unique collections through extraordinary combinations of specific contents and techniques that were distinct from the usual caricature stereotypes among his contemporaries in Iran. On the occasion of the 40th day of his passing, I would like to refer to his collection of “Life Again”. This collection initially was published under the concept of “Death”, but when I spoke to him on this topic, he mentioned this collection of artworks under the name of “Life Again”. In this collection two worlds are depicted simultaneously: the world of the living and the world of the dead. This simultaneity has provided a special arena for Rezaei’s unique humor. This duality comes to his aid throughout this collection, the painting is divided into two parts: above the ground, the place where the living live, and below the ground the resting place of the dead, due to the habit of the viewer's eye, he first encounters the upper scene of the work, where he encounters the living who are shedding tears for their lost loved ones. He is saddened by the sight of those large and exaggerated tears, his eyes move, and now, having come to the bottom of the tomb, he laughs at the sight of the dead. Jokes that are completely imbued with human concerns that sometimes even go to the point of finding a new lover in the world of the dead! Terrible mourning and a flood of tears flowing on the ground and a scene of dancing, singing, and drinking underground! A creative paradox that engages all the emotions of the audience in an instant and takes them with it. Each work in this collection tells a new story from the world of the dead, even when there is no one from the world of the living in the frame, we still see the division. Sometimes even the dead person himself helps the mourners in his funeral, welcoming the afterlife. After reviewing this entire collection of his works, forty days ago, we buried him, and he did something with his artworks that mixed our tears and laughter until the last moment.
Rezaei fulfilled his mission in silence and solitude and left. Despite the publication of collection of his artworks in the last years of his life, many enthusiasts and even artists themselves may not know his name, At the unveiling ceremony of his book at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts, when he was asked to go to the podium and speak, he said: "If I knew how to speak, I wouldn't have become a caricaturist!" Let's see Bahman Rezaei in his immortal works, get to know him, and keep his dear memory alive. He was funny and joked about death, his memory is eternal.
Saadat Afzood
