Sassan Behnam Bakhtiar

Sassan Behnam Bakhtiar
Born	February 1, 1984 Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris, France
🏡 Residence	Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France
🏳️ Nationality	Iranian-French
🎓 Alma mater	American University in Dubai; Monaco Business School (International University of Monaco)
💼 Occupation

Sassan Behnam Bakhtiar (Persian: ساسان بھنام بختیار) is an acclaimed multidisciplinary artist. In addition to his artistic practice, he is also the founder of France’s Fondation Behnam Bakhtiar, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to the promotion of contemporary works by visual artists of Iranian descent (as well as contemporary Iranian culture as a whole), and Monaco’s Galerie Behnam Bakthiar, as well as an art collector, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.

Biography

Early Life and Education

Sassan was born in the Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1984, during the middle of the Iran-Iraq War. Through his mother, Firouzeh Bakhtiar-Bakhtiariha, he traces his descent from Iran’s ancient Bakhtiari tribe. Many of his relatives, such as the late Iranian Prime Minister Shapour Bakhtiar and General Teymour Bakhtiar (two of his great-uncles), as well as the second wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Queen Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari, to name a few, were notable figures in the Pahlavi and Qajar eras. His father, Behzad Behnam, likewise belongs to an aristocratic Iranian family that includes the Qajar monarch Ahmad Shah amongst its paternal ancestors. In the early years of the Pahlavi era, Reza Shah changed the name of the family from the original ‘Hezarkhani’ to ‘Behnam’ (literally meaning ‘good name’ in Persian) on account of the former bearing the Turkic honorific khan (denoting a type of lord). According to Behzad, the Shah reasoned that there could only be one khan — himself — and not a thousand (hezar), and chose the current family name in its stead.

Although born in Paris, Sassan spent his formative years in Tehran. Three years after his parents’ divorce, when Sassan was only six years old, his mother took him to live with her in the Iranian capital. The move was of immense significance, not only in terms of the geographic and familial distance it entailed, but also because of the impact it had on Sassan’s worldview. It was in Tehran that, despite all the difficulties of growing up in the aftermath of the Iran-Iraq War, Sassan developed a passion for his ancient homeland and culture, around which his artistic career and philanthropy would later revolve.

At the age of nineteen, Sassan moved to nearby Dubai to pursue a Bachelor of Information Technology at the American University (AUD). Upon receiving his degree and working for some time in Dubai, he moved at twenty-six to London with his wife, Maria Zakharchenko, to find his voice as an artist, as he had long harboured a passion for visual art. A year later, he relocated back to France, this time not in Paris, but in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat on the Cote d’Azur. After receiving his MBA from the International University of Monaco's Monaco Business School in 2012, he devoted himself to his artistic career as well as various entrepreneurial endeavours.  

Artistic Career

Although Sassan developed an interest in the arts at a very young age through his parents, it wasn’t until 2010, whilst in London, that his artistic career began in earnest. His early works — mostly paintings — were largely informed by Iranian icons and imagery, and were first exhibited at Magic of Persia’s ‘Magical Nights’ Gala in Dubai in 2009. Shortly afterwards, he produced two series regarding the Iran-Iraq War (A Reason to Fight and Aftermath), as well as the autobiographical The Real Me, which brought to the fore various aspects of his identity and scenes of historical Iran. It was in The Real Me that Sassan developed his signature style of pairing black-and-white photography with vibrant collage cut-outs adorned with traditional Iranian patterns and motifs. His Invincible series, for which he produced a series of digital collage portraits and short films, expanded on not only the ideas and styles first explored in The Real Me, but also that of his early portraiture. However, instead of highlighting well-known Iranian figures such as Soraya Esfandiary- Bakhtiari and Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh, Sassan turned his attention towards ordinary Iranians, whom he believed reflected the ‘true spirit’ of Iran and shared his passion for his native country.

The artist’s recent Oneness Wholeness series marks a departure from the approach and aesthetics he initially gained attention for. Although Iran and his feelings towards it are, as always, central to the works, the Iranian imagery and references are more subtle. Heavily influenced by Eastern philosophies such as Qigong and Kundalini, it is the first in which Sassan has experimented with abstract painting.

Sassan’s works have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions around the world, in cities such as London, New York, Los Angeles, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Tehran. They have also been sold by auction houses including Bonhams, Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and artnet. Both in exhibitions as well as auctions, his works have been shown alongside those by master artists such as Georg Baselitz, Sigmar Polke, Gerhard Richter, and Parviz Tanavoli, amongst many others.

Art Collection

In 2016, Sassan founded the Fondation Behnam Bakhtiar in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. A significant collection of contemporary works by artists of Iranian descent, it houses pieces by master artists (e.g. Parviz Tanavoli, Shirin Neshat, Farideh Lashai, Sohrab Sepehri, and Ardeshir Mohassess) as well as lesser-known ones. The collection aside, the non-political and non-religious Fondation espouses a wider ambition of serving as a cultural gateway between Iran and the West. Sassan is well-known and regarded in Europe and elsewhere as a major patron of contemporary Iranian art and artists and an ambassador of Iranian culture.

Philanthropy

Through the Behnam Bakhtiar Award, the Fondation actively supports emerging artists of Iranian descent, both financially, as well as otherwise (e.g. in the hosting of exhibitions, printing of artist books, etc.). The first iteration of the Award — ‘Future. Iran.’, held in 2017 — looked at works pertaining to the development of a better future for Iran, and saw Iran-based artist Babak Kazemi win first prize.  

Sassan is also a major financial sponsor of London’s Magic of Persia charity, particularly where its fundraising galas are concerned. According to founder Shirley Elghanian, ‘tens of thousands have been raised from Sassan’s generous donations alone’.  

Reception

Sassan’s art has received acclaim from numerous high-profile publications and individuals. Harper’s Bazaar Art Arabia refers to him as ‘an ardent champion of Iran’s art scene’, as well as ‘a man on a mission to inform the world of the true nature of Iran’. Likewise, the Huffington Post describes him as ‘a multitalented renaissance artist from Iran’ and his works as providing ‘an interesting necessary alternative view’ with respect to Iran. Moreover, award-winning writer Joobin Bekhrad devoted a chapter of his 2017 book With My Head in the Clouds and Stars in My Eyes to Sassan and his art.  

Selected Exhibitions and Auctions

• Setareh Gallery, Abu Dhabi Art (November 2017)
• Memory & Future/Future & Memory, Shirin Gallery, New York City (October 2016)
• Blue Gold, Etemad Gallery, Tehran (April 2016)
• Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art, Bonham’s, London (November 2017)
• Contemporary Middle Eastern Art, artnet Auctions (Online; February 2017)

References

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