ArtDayMe : The Middle East Raha Gallery Collection, which has been actively involved in cultural events for over two decades with an emphasis on supporting regional art, houses a diverse range of modernist and contemporary masterpieces by Iranian and Arab artists.

Among them is the widely recognized piece “Toothpicker” by the late Farhad Moshiri, created in 2008 using oil, glitter, crystals, and adhesive on canvas mounted on panel (196 ×147cm). 

This work, first exhibited at the prestigious Saatchi Gallery in London in 2010, was later sold in Christie’s Middle East auction in October 2014.

Born in 1963, Farhad Moshiri became the first Middle Eastern artist to sell a work at auction for over one million USD, when his piece “Love” fetched $1,048,000 at Bonhams in Dubai in 2008, setting a new benchmark for Middle Eastern art. Five years later, in April 2013, Moshiri once again crossed the million-dollar threshold at Christie’s Dubai with “Secret Garden.” To date, he remains the only artist from the region to have achieved this milestone twice.

Yet Moshiri's significance extended beyond auction records. Born in Shiraz, his early exposure to cinema through his father—a cinema owner—sparked a deep interest in visual culture. He moved to the United States in 1979, settling near Los Angeles, and later studied at the California Institute of the Arts. After 12 years abroad, he returned to Iran in 1990.

Moshiri’s fascination with kitsch and pop art became a hallmark of his work, making him a distinct voice in Middle Eastern art. 

In 2017, the Andy Warhol Museum, a shrine to the father of pop art, showcased his unique visual language. His distinctive practice combined precious materials like pearls and Swarovski crystals with everyday objects, infused with biting humor and a conceptual approach. His ability to juxtapose the glamorous and the mundane created works that both dazzled and provoked.

In “Toothpicker”, now part of the Raha Gallery Collection, Moshiri delivers a satirical and visually captivating take on consumerism, luxury, and identity crisis. The painting portrays a sharply dressed man picking his teeth. But what steals the viewer's attention is the over-the-top, crystal-studded sunglasses, which practically blind him, and a flashy earring—both jarring against his traditional features and pulling the image into the terrain of pop satire.

Using a deep, classical color palette of browns, dark greens, and beiges, Moshiri sets a traditional tone, only to rupture it with the opulence of the crystals. This ironic tension between heritage and surface spectacle underscores the core message: a hollow performance of identity, driven by appearance.

The title, “Toothpicker” carries its own layer of irony. 

A banal, everyday act placed within a luxurious, staged context becomes a metaphor for contemporary life, where even the simplest gestures must shine, be branded, and perform for attention.

At the bottom of the canvas, the phrase “FARHAD MOSHIRI EYEWEAR” is displayed alongside a list of global luxury capitals—from New York to Paris—mimicking the aesthetic of high-end fashion advertisements. This section blurs the line between commercial graphic language and critical artistic discourse, posing a lingering question: In a world where everything is commodified and glitter-wrapped, does anything authentic remain?

With “Toothpicker,” Moshiri does more than catch the eye—he engages the mind. Balancing between beauty and banality, he casts a witty yet cautionary gaze at a consumer-driven culture. Notably, the initials "FM" engraved on the glasses' arm reflect the artist’s self-awareness, perhaps a nod to his own complicity in the system he critiques.

What Did Christie’s Say?

The Christie’s 2014 auction catalog described the piece as follows:

“Christie’s is proud to present ‘Toothpicker’ by internationally acclaimed artist Farhad Moshiri. Born in Iran, Moshiri became known for his satirical and hybrid visual language that blends traditional Iranian forms with the encroaching forces of Western consumerism and pop culture. His work often reflects on the rise of the nouveau riche, driven by rapid economic shifts. Through deliberate contrasts—old and new, rich and poor—Moshiri crafts a distinct voice. In ‘Toothpicker,’ a man with oversized Swarovski-studded sunglasses uses a toothpicker, while the phrase ‘Farhad Moshiri Eyewear’ appears below alongside city names, mimicking fashion branding.

There’s something uncanny about the man: his slicked-back, awkwardly dyed hair, red lips, pale skin, and dark, carefully shaped eyebrows render him an almost grotesque figure. Christie’s notes the resemblance to the Joker—an allegory for the absurdity and shallowness of contemporary masculinity. The man becomes both clown and symbol. Moshiri reflects on a generation grappling with identity, obsessed with surface, and driven by spectacle. He mocks the emergence of masses with luxury goods but poor cultural grounding—a phenomenon not limited to Iran. In Western culture, using a toothpick publicly may suggest poor manners, while in the Iranian middle class it’s seen as normal. Here, Moshiri uses it to expose contradictions, critique superficiality, and reflect global consumer culture’s hollowing effect.

‘Toothpicker’ is a powerful and piercing portrait of the world we inhabit. Moshiri’s works challenge viewers to rethink societal structures and blurred cultural boundaries. His use of irony, however, avoids aggression—instead offering poetic resistance and emotional resonance.”

“Toothpicker” is currently held in the Middle East Raha Gallery  Collection.