Experience the work of Parviz Tanavoli, acclaimed Iranian-Canadian artist, at the Aga Khan Museum! This installation features three of Tanavoli’s sculptures — Poet in Love, 2009; Big Heech, 2014; and Tanavoli’s most recent work, Horizontal Lovers, 2016 — on display in the Aga Khan Park, and marks the first time that Horizontal Lovers is on public display for all to enjoy.

As of June 2018, the glimmering Big Heech sculpture will join the Museum’s Permanent Collection and continue to greet visitors outside the Museum. Big Heech has been generously donated by Orbital Technologies Inc. in honour of His Highness the Aga Khan’s Diamond Jubilee 2017.

Considered one of Iran’s leading artists and most well known for his bronze sculptures that are inspired by the art of calligraphy, Parviz Tanavoli is a pioneer of the Saqqakhaneh movement of the 1960s. The movement is recognized as the first school of Iranian modern art, with its associated painters and sculptors incorporating elements from Iranian folk art into their creations. Throughout his six-decade career, Tanavoli’s work has been shown at museums around the world, including the Davis Museum in Wellesley, MA; the Tate Modern in London; the Grey Art Gallery in New York City, NY; and the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art.