These two images on the wall of my home enchant me—they are precious mementos, gifts from my dear artist friend Abbas Bagherian, whose works have eternally captured a wondrous world of dreamlike glimpses of life.
These beautiful and evocative pictures invite me, with every glance, into a new moment of revelation.
Abbas Bagherian, the imaginative and talented Iranian photographer, is among those rare artists who treat the camera not merely as a tool for recording reality, but as a brush for painting the world of their vision. The result feels like a dreamy painting on canvas, infused with the hues of poetry, story, love, and song—a window into wonder and beauty.
In his work, the boundary between photography and painting vanishes. Light and shadow, color and texture, are conjured not just to depict reality but to transcend it—reaching toward something more, toward a poetic and intuitive state of encountering beauty.
Bagherian’s photographs are often so delicate and surreal that the viewer is left in doubt: are they witnessing a real image or a painting imagined and meticulously created by a visionary artist who has sat for months before a canvas with brush and palette.
He is among those photographers who reflect the world through the lens of their own inner world—not merely what is, but what could be, or what exists in dream and reverie. In his work, nature, light, architecture, and the human figure come together like the elements of a musical composition, conveying a sense of serenity, contemplation, and at times, a hidden melancholy.
This distinctive style has brought his work international recognition, earning him numerous prestigious awards around the world. The acclaimed artist has received honors in countries such as France, Italy, Japan, Turkey, and Germany, including the Grand FIAP Prize, the Gold Medal of the Istanbul International Photography Festival, the Badge of Honor from the European Photography Association, as well as awards in fine art photography competitions in Tokyo and Paris.
These awards are not only a testament to Bagherian’s technical mastery and singular vision, but also to the universal language of his art.
What sets his work apart from other contemporary photographers is his unique way of seeing—a perspective that moves beyond conventional photographic storytelling and instead offers the viewer an emotional and inward experience. In today’s noisy world, his images evoke silence and reflection, like an open window into the soul, into poetry, imagination, and the forgotten beauty of nature and humanity.
Abbas Bagherian is not merely a photographer—he is a poet of imagery; an artist who paints with his camera and speaks to the viewer through the quietude of his photographs.
And now this deeply feeling, widely honored artist—this dear friend and great artist—bears the heartbreaking loss of his young daughter, taken from him too soon. How unjust it is, that the one who creates and immortalizes beauty must now endure the cruel vanishing of one so dear.
We, the writers and companions of Cinema Without Borders, stand in mourning with our beloved and soulful artist Abbas Bagherian and his esteemed wife, sharing in their profound sorrow.
