Mehdi Saeedi’s artistic vision is informed by the aesthetic heritage and traditions of the Middle East. Combining his experience in classical Persian calligraphy with visual cues from the art of dance, Saeedi explores the sensual nature of writing. His work—thoroughly contemporary, masterful, shimmering with visual sleights of hand—has as its basis movement, speed, space, and color. Saeedi will present work, discuss the evolution of his style, and give a preview of new projects.

Mehdi Saeedi‎ is an award-winning, internationally known artist and designer based in Philadelphia. He was born in Tehran, Iran. He is a typographer and calligrapher whose expertise is zoomorphic lettering design—shaping words into animals and other forms. His work has been in more than 250 exhibitions and biennials worldwide, and has been published numerous times, including in New Masters of Poster Design (Rockport, 2012). Saeedi has taught classes and workshops in Iran and abroad, and is currently part-time faculty at Towson University in Maryland. www.mehdisaeedi.com