ABOUT OUR ARTISTS
Fallou Fall
Fall is a graphic artist and calligrapher born and raised on the outskirts of Dakar, in the locales of Pikine and Guédiawaye. He was trained in the technique of West African calligraphy (a maghrebi derived script) and in the mystical significance of the Arabic alphabet by his father, renowned international artist Yelimane Fall. Fallou Fall is part of the Mouridiyya and is learned in both the Holy Quran, and the teachings and khassaides (poetry) of Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba. Fallou is a burgeoning artist in Senegal, taking on his father’s name le Messeger de la Foi. He continues to develop West African calligraphic style, creating large and medium sized multi-media artworks and murals centered on Islam, the poetry of Bamba, and themes of social importance. Fallou is the Artistic Director of the West African Calligraphy Institute, continuing the work in Senegal in social activism and establishing the Institute and school.
Nuria Garcia Masip
Born in 1978 in Ibiza, Spain, Nuria Garcia Masip grew up between Spain and the USA. In 1999, after completing her university studies, she traveled to Morocco where she developed an interest in Islamic art. In 2000, she returned to Washington D.C. where she started studying the rik’a, sülüs, and nesih scripts with calligrapher (hattat) Mohamed Zakariya. In 2004, she moved to Istanbul where she continued to study the sülüs, and nesih scripts with hattat Hasan Çelebi, and with hattat Davut Bektaş. In 2007, she received her diploma (ijazah) in these two scripts, signed by her three teachers. She holds a Masters in Art History from the Sorbonne University, has won prestigious prizes in international calligraphy competitions and her work forms part of various private and museum collections. She has also organized numerous workshops and conferences on this art to promote the art of calligraphy internationally. Her work is firmly rooted in the classical school of calligraphy and she enjoys preserving the techniques and materials of the tradition. Nuria is currently living in Paris where she teaches, researches, and works on calligraphy.
biography from nuriaart.com
Bahman Panahi
Franco-Iranian artist Bahman Panahi was born in 1967. He holds a Ph.D. in music and musicology, he is a visual artist, calligrapher and musician. At a very young age, he understood that calligraphy is a living art, where gesture is combined with rhythm in the search for balance and a consonant harmony, seeking to sublimate sentences, words and letters, whilst revealing their melodic dimension. This poetic conception led him naturally to highlight the resonances of calligraphy and music. Inspired by these two artistic practices, he has made them his vocation. From his teenage years onwards, he devoted his studies to that purpose. His studies took him to France, where he deepened his research and developed the concept of Musicalligraphy in his doctoral thesis at Sorbonne University. In his work, Bahman Panahi consistently endeavoured to bring out this conceptual dimension of calligraphy. This artistic practice, comprising both traditional and abstract calligraphic compositions, has allowed him to travel: exhibitions, concerts, artistic performances around the world, exchanges with international artists have all waymarked Bahman Panahi’s life and have lent him international prominence.
biography from bahmanpanahi.com
Behnaz Karjoo
Born in Tehran, Iran, Behnaz Karjoo moved to the United States at a young age where she developed an interest in art. Her creative pursuits took a serious turn later in her life, when she started to study jewelry design and photography at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Inspired by her early memories of Iranian mosque architecture, illumination, and calligraphy, she soon pursued training in the classical Islamic arts. Under the mentorship of Mujgan Baskoylu, a distinguished master in Turkish illumination, miniature painting, and paper cutting, Behnaz began her study of illumination (tazhib) in 2011. Her dedication led her works to be exhibited worldwide, and in 2016, she earned her ijazet, a certificate of mastery in illumination. Expanding her artistic repertoire, Behnaz pursued the study of miniature painting in 2019, followed by an exploration of square kufic calligraphy in 2021. These continuous pursuits exemplify her commitment to enriching her knowledge and skill set within the realm of Islamic arts. Behnaz is an active participant in the New York Islamic Arts collective, founded by Mrs. Baskoylu, which is dedicated to preserving and promoting classical Islamic arts in the United States. In her artistic pursuits, Behnaz holds the belief that while classical arts, including illumination, have a timeless foundation, their potential for evolution and growth is boundless. She continually strives to present these art forms in innovative ways, embracing experimentation with diverse materials, colors, compositions, and designs.
biography from behnazkarjoo.com