TEHRAN – Iranian ambassador to the Russian Federation, Kazem Jalali, president of the Russian Academy of Arts, met with Vasily Tseleteli, grandson of Moscow’s famous Russian artist Zlav Tseleteli on Monday to discuss and exchange views on bilateral arts cooperation between the two countries.
At the conference, organized by the Cultural Attachment Office of the Iranian Embassy in Russia, Jalali described cultural diplomacy as one of the key aspects of Iran-Russia’s strategic relations, the IRNA reported.
“As neighbours with many similarities, Iran and Russia must have an accurate and deep understanding of each other’s art. The development of arts relations can further strengthen bilateral relations in other fields,” he said.
The ambassador added that the Iranian Embassy’s cultural attachment office is responsible for advancing cultural and artistic relations between the two countries, highlighting that the embassy fully supports all forms of artistic collaboration.
In another part of his remarks, Jalali mentioned the positive cooperation of the embassy with the Russian Academy of Sciences and welcomed the proposal that the president of the Russian Academy of Arts would work with similar Iranian institutions and artists.
Emphasizing the great potential of Iranian artists in the field of visual arts, particularly in the field of painting and sculpture, he invited Vasily Teleteli to visit Iran and witnessed his artistic abilities.
He also mentioned the days of Russian culture held in Iran in June, and took the opportunity to travel to Tehran with an invitation to the Teleteri.
Speaking at the meeting, the cultural obsession of the Iranian embassy in Moscow expressed his gratitude for Tseleteri’s support in promoting Iranian art in Russia.
He pointed out that Russian art lovers had previously little knowledge of Iranian visual arts, and that Tseleteri led them in stages like a caring advisor.
“Thanks to his guidance, the embassy was able to promote the participation of Iranian artists in Russian art exhibitions,” Ahmadvand noted.
Cultural Attache noted that the participation of Iranian artists in two recent art exhibitions in Moscow has resulted in a significant increase in the understanding of Russian collectors and the evaluation of Iranian visual arts compared to the previous year.
He also announced upcoming exhibitions of Russian artworks at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tehran in the near future. The exhibition features Zurab Tsereteli’s work alongside other Russian artists.
He said cooperation between Iran and the Russian Academy of Arts is one of the plans for the future of both countries.
The chairman of the Russian Academy of Arts said Iran owns a rich culture and civilization.
“I am familiar with Iranian artwork, especially paintings by Iranian artists, during my trips to various countries,” he said.
Vasily Tseleteli further expressed his interest in opening a branch dedicated to teaching realism painting based on Iran’s cultural values, expressing his interest in the preparation of the Russian Academy of Arts to expand artistic cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran and teaching realism painting.
This was followed by the Iranian ambassador to visit the academy exhibition, particularly the exhibitions that exhibited visual works by the late Zurab Tsereteli.
Zurab Tsereteli, a well-known Russian painter, sculptor and architect from Georgia, recently passed away at the age of 91 of cardiac arrest. Zurab (Georgian, the Persian name Sohrab) served as president of the Russian Academy of Arts from 1997 until his death. His grandson, Vasily, was elected by the majority of the academy members to take him over as the new president.
Photo: Kazem Jalali (L) and Vasily Tsereteli will meet at the Russian Academy of Arts in Moscow on May 26, 2025.
SS/SAB