Visual artist, type designer and graphic designer, Masoud Alavi, was born in Isfahan, at the heart of Iran. Growing up in a city steeped in culture, Masoud began his artistic journey at the age of 12 in an art school during the revolutionary times of 1979 in Iran. At the age of 18, he moved to Tehran to pursue design and art at Tehran University’s Art Faculty.
Enduring the challenges of the war between Iran and Iraq, Masoud found himself in the midst of the conflict. At the age of 23, seeking refuge, he left Iran and relocated to Denmark, where he continued his studies in design in current Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Design.
Artist Statement
Masoud Alavi’s artistic journey is rooted in the ancient Persian calligraphic tradition of Siyah Mashq—a practice that merges discipline with spontaneity, repetition with revelation. This practice, originally a method for calligraphers to perfect their form through endless repetition, has evolved into an expression of pure aesthetic and rhythm, transcending the boundaries of language and meaning.
Traditionally, Siyah Mashq employs words and letters as repetitive elements, but in Masoud’s works, he has removed the linguistic meaning and focused solely on form. By breaking free from the structure of letters and the meaning of words, he creates abstract shapes that allow the brushstrokes to speak for themselves.
In his work, Masoud embraces the essence of Siyah Mashq to explore the power of repetition and its ability to transform the mundane into the extraordinary. The repetitive strokes of his brush, much like the endless looping of thoughts, serve as a meditation on the cycles of life, emotion, and the human experience. Each line, each curve, becomes a physical manifestation of his inner dialogue—a conversation between control and chaos, discipline and freedom.
Through this process, Masoud seeks to express the tension between the conscious and the subconscious, allowing the act of creation to become an excretion of his deepest feelings. The patterns that emerge on the canvas are not merely aesthetic compositions but are imbued with the essence of his personal introspection and emotional resonance.
The repetition in Masoud’s art is not just a mechanical exercise; it is a reflection of his quest for understanding, healing, and self-expression. It mirrors the ways in which we revisit our thoughts, our memories, and our emotions—each time discovering something new within the familiar. The layers of ink, overlapping and intertwining, represent the complexities of our inner worlds and the beauty that arises from embracing our imperfections.
His work invites viewers to immerse themselves in the rhythm of repetition, to find their own reflections within the swirling forms, and to experience the profound stillness that lies at the heart of continuous motion. In this space, meaning is both lost and found, allowing for a deeper connection with the universal patterns that shape our lives.