Arash Hanaei
Too Khali (Void)2011

Not on view

Triptych of color photographs showing the same Arabic-script neon sign in pink against cream, glowing green in darkness, and glowing red-orange in darkness

Neon sculpture mounted on a pale cream square panel, featuring Arabic script in glowing pink neon tubing positioned in the lower right, with visible mounting hardware and thin wires extending to the panel surface.

Neon light installation mounted on a dark background; glowing green Arabic script in cursive form positioned in the lower right, with visible mounting brackets and thin support wires.

Artist or Maker: Arash Hanaei
Iran, Tehran, born 1978
Title: Too Khali (Void)
Place Made: Iran, Tehran
Date Made: 2011
Medium: Inkjet prints, neon
Dimensions: .1) Image: 43 1/4 × 43 1/4 in. (109.86 × 109.86 cm) .1) Sheet: 44 × 44 3/8 in. (111.76 × 112.71 cm) .2) Image: 43 1/4 × 43 1/2 in. (109.86 × 110.49 cm) .2) Sheet: 44 1/4 × 44 3/4 in. (112.4 × 113.67 cm) .3a) Neon sign: 20 × 25 3/4 × 1 1/2 in. (50.8 × 65.41 × 3.81 cm) .3b) Neon sign: 17 × 18 × 1 1/4 in. (43.18 × 45.72 × 3.18 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Art of the Middle East: Contemporary
Accession Number: M.2013.161.1-.3
Classification: Installation Art
Collecting Area: Art of the Middle East: Contemporary
Curatorial Notes: In this three-part piece, Arash Hanaei takes on the messaging of the garishly colored neon signage that
marks the cityscape of Tehran, his home. Each section of the work repeats the colloquial Persian
expression Too Khali, which means empty or void. It is a conscious reference and homage to the
work of Parviz Tanavoli, one of Iran’s greatest modern sculptors, who is best known for his imaginative
three-dimensional renderings of the Persian word heech, or nothingness. Tanavoli not only helped
to define the artistic generation leading up to the 1979 Islamic Revolution but has continued to inspire
postrevolutionary artists like Hanaei.

Arash Hanaei has participated in solo and group shows since 2002, when he received a BA in
photography from Azad University of Art, Tehran. Included in the groundbreaking 2009 exhibition Iran
Inside Out at New York’s Chelsea Museum, his work has also been shown at Art Dubai and Paris
Photo. He currently divides his time between Tehran and Paris.
Selected Bibliography: Komaroff, Linda. Islamic Art Now: Contemporary Art of the Middle East. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2015.
Copyright: © Arash Hanaei

Arash Hanaei
Too Khali (Void)2011

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Arash Hanaei
Iran, Tehran, born 1978
Title: Too Khali (Void)
Place Made: Iran, Tehran
Date Made: 2011
Medium: Inkjet prints, neon
Dimensions: .1) Image: 43 1/4 × 43 1/4 in. (109.86 × 109.86 cm) .1) Sheet: 44 × 44 3/8 in. (111.76 × 112.71 cm) .2) Image: 43 1/4 × 43 1/2 in. (109.86 × 110.49 cm) .2) Sheet: 44 1/4 × 44 3/4 in. (112.4 × 113.67 cm) .3a) Neon sign: 20 × 25 3/4 × 1 1/2 in. (50.8 × 65.41 × 3.81 cm) .3b) Neon sign: 17 × 18 × 1 1/4 in. (43.18 × 45.72 × 3.18 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Art of the Middle East: Contemporary
Accession Number: M.2013.161.1-.3
Classification: Installation Art
Collecting Area: Art of the Middle East: Contemporary
Curatorial Notes: In this three-part piece, Arash Hanaei takes on the messaging of the garishly colored neon signage that
marks the cityscape of Tehran, his home. Each section of the work repeats the colloquial Persian
expression Too Khali, which means empty or void. It is a conscious reference and homage to the
work of Parviz Tanavoli, one of Iran’s greatest modern sculptors, who is best known for his imaginative
three-dimensional renderings of the Persian word heech, or nothingness. Tanavoli not only helped
to define the artistic generation leading up to the 1979 Islamic Revolution but has continued to inspire
postrevolutionary artists like Hanaei.

Arash Hanaei has participated in solo and group shows since 2002, when he received a BA in
photography from Azad University of Art, Tehran. Included in the groundbreaking 2009 exhibition Iran
Inside Out at New York’s Chelsea Museum, his work has also been shown at Art Dubai and Paris
Photo. He currently divides his time between Tehran and Paris.
Selected Bibliography: Komaroff, Linda. Islamic Art Now: Contemporary Art of the Middle East. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2015.