Mostafa Keshvari Displays Zoroastrian Inspired Artworks at Dar E Mehr Zoroastrian Temple

Mostafa Keshvari is an Iranian born, Canadian-American artist and filmmaker who recently had his oil paintings displayed at Dar E Mehr Zoroastrian Temple in Pomona. The exhibition featured around 20 out of 72 paintings Keshvari made in a series of art works. The theme of the pieces in the collection are largely centered around Zoroastrian cosmology and religious philosophy, with the underlying idea of ‘truth’ tying all the pieces together.

The Dar E Mehr temple has been in Pomona at 106 Pomona Road for just over a decade and serves as the center of the local Zoroastrian community in the tri-state area. For those unaware, Zoroastrianism is an old religion from Iran that predates Islam by several centuries. Due to religious discrimination, most Zoroastrians had to flee Iran at the end of the 19th and beginning of the  20th century. Today, Zoroastrians can be found all over the world, but the community is small compared to other religions, largely centered in India, Iran, and the United States.

Mostafa Keshvari, who is based in California, converted to Zoroastrianism after growing up in the Islamic Republic of Iran. He views Zoroastrianism more as a personal philosophy and says the religion’s focus on truth and its focus on this life rather than an after life was what drew him toward it. Keshvari hopes his paintings will shed a light on the small but thriving Zoroastrian community.

Each piece in the series is displayed alongside a poem, written to accompany the piece and shed light on the work. Some pieces, like “Nest of Noble Thoughts, Words and Deeds” focus more on the cosmology aspect. The piece features three eggs in a nest, with each egg having its own universe inside of it. Other pieces, like “A Single Candlewick” have a more human focus. As of now the paintings are not on permanent display, but Keshvari hopes that he’ll be able to put them up in a gallery soon.

To learn more about Mostafa Keshvari and his work, visit https://saoshyantstudios.com/.