Wahed Khakdan and Nostalgia in the Raha Gallery Collection

Wahed Khakdan, the distinguished Iranian painter, passed away a few days ago, on October 23, at the age of 75. In tribute to this eminent artist, we examine one of his remarkable and thought-provoking works preserved in the Raha Gallery Middle East Collection — a seminal painting in which Khakdan, the master painter, creates a poetic and melancholic dialogue between childhood and violence, between beauty and destruction. Each component of the painting carries a visual memory that, when…

Wahed Khakdan and the Localized Neo-Realism in Raha Gallery Collection

This painting is among the most dramatic and yet hopeful works of Wahed Khakdan—an exquisitely melancholic and subtly humorous piece held in the Raha Middle East Gallery Collection. Khakdan, with his distinctive mastery, avoids depicting superficial joy; instead, he evokes a forgotten but resilient kind of happiness—one that lingers quietly within ordinary objects, faded memories, and muted colors. Embedded within the painting are layers of Iranian culture—carpets, traditional letters, the…