Born in 1966 in Tehran, Iran, Mojtaba Tajik’s artistic companion was a camera before a paintbrush.  He was later trained by the Iranian Master Aydin Aghdashloo and went on to become a hyperrealist painter, holding his first solo exhibition in 1995.

As a keen photographer and through focusing on subjects with visual aesthetical value, he treats his camera as an instrument. His photographs supply him with initial sketches of his paintings that during the process are portrayed beyond their outward image in order to become his own characteristic creations. Tajik’s theatrical still life works, despite being realistic, go beyond photos that serve as his roadmaps and work the viewers into a more elemental dimension.

Boxes are Tajik’s collection of different series each consisting of paintings categorised by subject depicting shoeboxes, wooden boxes, mailboxes, lockers, display cases and suitcases. In each of these works Tajik applies a dramatic approach towards painting by projecting and using spot lights, theatrical scenes and frames that look like puppet show boxes; each showcasing a fragment of life in their own unique way.   Unlike his Boxes, the Billboard series is a straight and somehow brutal presentation of the city billboards in their distorted and messy existence; broken, torn, unused and rusted as they are around us, only this time following us indoors. Tajik is known for his ability to merge the aesthetics of the object with conceptual concerns to probe his own social and culture milieu.

Tajik has held several solo shows in Iran, the US and Qatar and has participated in numerous national and international group exhibitions and art fairs.  A collection of his works was published in the book titled Boxes in 2007.