Abrishami Awes Art Acolytes

Blending color and harmony is certainly not a new concept in the arts, but in the hands of Hessam Abrishami, the results are truly music to the eyes. This past October, Hessam brought this visual music to Sachem North’s Little Theater.

On Friday, October 6th, Hessam came to New York to attend the opening of his art work at the LaMantia Gallery. I came into contact with his publicist and arranged for Hessam to give a presentation and demonstration of his painting style to our advanced art students.

Hessam came to North’s Little Theater it the early afternoon where he was greeted by a full house. Transportation was arranged to bring East students to North so that all our interested art students could enjoy his presentation.

The theater was packed, the introductions were made and Hessam came onto the stage simply saying, “Hello, my names Hessam. I am an artist.” He took off his jacket, clicked on a CD, picked up a tube of paint and went to work. For the next 40 minutes you could hear a pin drop as Hessam brought to life the figure of a woman playing the flute. The audience was captivated as paint and music came together in perfect harmony. Hessam’s finished painting can be seen online at www.lamantiagallery.com

Born in the city of Shiraz, Iran in 1951, Hessam Abrishami is the son of middle class parents and one of eight brothers and sisters. At age 15, through the inspiration and encouragement of a high school teacher, Hessam discovered both his love of art and his own talent for painting. As a result he became almost obsessed with painting.

Hessam, at age 17, received his first award for painting and went on to win top honors in painting in an all-country student competition in Iran. At age 19, he achieved first place honors in the "Iranian New Artists Competition." Many other national and international honors and recognition have followed since.

He went on to study in Italy. It was in Perugia, Italy that Hessam studied and completed his Master’s Degree of Fine Arts at the Accademi De Belle Arti “Pietro Vanucci.”

Hessam emigrated to Los Angeles, California where he continues to expand his creativity. He explores a realm which the French press has called “A statement in the fluidity of human figures... He creates a tension between each figure, a kinship of place or condition that provokes the viewer to seek reasons for such relationships.”

Greatly influenced by modern masters from Cezanne to Picasso, Hessam’s boldly colorful paintings are filled with love and laughter, music and dance.