Mansoor Ghandriz is one of the most important Iranian contemporary artists, who died so early. However, despite the limited opportunity he had, he was able to become well known as one of the artists of the Sagha Khaneh movement in Iran.
Ghandriz was born in Tabriz and studied at the Tehran Academy of Fine Arts. He exhibited a collection of his paintings in 1960 in Reza Abbasi Hall for the first time. He also founded the Iran Hall in association with his friends and participated in two Tehran Biennials and various exhibitions in and outside of Iran.
After leaving behind the academic aspect and imitation of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, Ghandriz was under the influence of ancient Chinese painting for a couple of years. But over time, the symbols of ancient Iranian art appeared in his works and became consistent. In 1963 Ghandriz became a follower of the Sagha Khaneh movement in a sudden turnover.
According to many experts’ opinions, the colors of Ghandriz’s works are not flat, but have the quality of painting in which geometric shapes are placed together in a mosaic depicting different motifs ranging from garland and dome of the Imamzadeh to the shrine and the lock, to create Sagha Khaneh forms.
"In general, Ghandriz achieved a kind of self-knowledge in Tabriz or we can say that he found the character of a painter,” said Mohammad Reza Judat about the characteristics of Ghandriz’s work. “Not only did he represent expressionism but he also had a tendency towards surrealism and even miniature."