Andre Gvalivich 1911 - 1985

Was raised in Russia, but he was always proud of Salamas, his childhood town in the region of Azarbaijan, Iran. The green of its verdure, the red of its crimson and its joyful nature are reflected in his paintings. The happiest qualities of the bright summers of Salamas, the coolness and brightness of the spring water, can almost be felt in his compositions. In her article on arts and literature, Seemeen Daneshvar writes: "Andre has succeeded in depicting the natural color compositions of the Iranian landscape."

His paintings immortalize sites and buildings that have not and will not survive the passage of time. His colors are spread on the canvas delicately and smoothly reminiscent of his porcelain-painting heritage. After 58 years of experience in painting, Andre at the age of 73 was still and experimentalism at heart, always introducing new color schemes, brush strokes, and discovering ways to bring out contrasts of dark and light, warm and cool. Until his death, he had the vivacity of a young man and the crudity of an experimenter.