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1. the radar | home
Lofty Living
Clockwise from left:
gallery owner Massoud
Besharat descends
the self-designed,
transparent staircase
to his main gallery
Maison Massoud space. Behind him is
a rope-swinging nude
sculpture by Jean
Louis Corby; the larger
A peek into the loft/gallery of Castleberry’s new art czar reveals an aesthetic informed by exotic of his gallery spaces
is a study in raw and
globetrotting, classic good taste, and a pinch of provocation | By Nancy Staab | Photography by Sarah Dorio | refined, with locally-
quarried cobblestones,
Massoud Besharat is a gregarious man with a large circle of collection of “primitive café paintings of dancing women” gave way biomorphic glass
fixtures by local artist
international friends, a raconteur who spins tantalizing tales at his to a serious collection of internationally renowned contemporary Christopher Moulder
favorite neighborhood haunt FAB (French American Brasserie), and artists (from photojournalist Steve McCurry, whose 1984 image of and rotating art such as
a bon vivant who contends that “a meal is not worth eating if you an Afghan girl with a mesmerizing gaze is iconic, to classicist sculptor these colorful canvases
by Spanish artist
don’t have at least 12 people at the table.” Walk into his salon-style Roberto Santo). Likewise, Besharat’s works span every medium: Alexandro Santana;
lof, hung floor-to-ceiling with eclectic works, and you are likely to sculpture, photography, abstract and figurative paintings, drawings Besharat’s rooftop
find him playing opera music by Cecilia Bartoli, while proffering a and installation art—the result of his very visceral, “spontaneous bedroom, housed in a
glass pavilion, is a nod
glass of Chateau La Grange Clinet to his guests. But few Atlantans relation to art,” he says. to his iranian childhood
outside of his creative circle had heard of the arts ambassador before Forget sterile white cubes. Besharat’s self-designed lof is the and summer nights
he boldly opened Besharat Gallery two years ago. Who was this antithesis of this conventional gallery model. Instead, his lair is a spent sleeping on the
roof to keep cool.
mysterious avatar of art, an Iranian expat by way of Austria, London, highly personal, eccentric place. Te hodgepodge multi-level space
Paris and then Elberton, Georgia, who dabbled in multiple vocations was carved out of a historic turn-of-the-century warehouse and
from art to the travel biz, real estate, and even stone quarrying? retains original elements such as exposed brick walls, which provide
Asked about his past, Besharat weaves a heady tale of a teenage an interesting textural backdrop to works of art. Over the course of
dropout who wandered through Europe living by his wits and fueled four years, the run-down space emerged into a stunning ground-
by his Renaissance interests (“art, books, politics, sociology and level open gallery, equal parts raw and refined—paved with rough
sex”). When the Iranian Revolution of 1979 closed the doors of his cobblestones from Besharat’s own Elberton quarry and lit by neon
homeland, he eventually followed his brother to Atlanta in the 1980s columns and biomorphic glass chandeliers by local artist Christopher
to obtain his green card. Somewhere along the way his bachelor pad Moulder. A dramatic “ghost” staircase of translucent continued...
34 | | March/April 2010

2. UrBAn Art
Clockwise from far left: A
life-size sculpture by
Jean tannous reclines
in an 1850 English club
chair in the living room.
Above the sculpture
is a glimpse of the
mezzanine and the
all-glass bath with red
tiles; Besharat’s main
living/dining area also
acts as a gallery for
works by international
artists; the urban
garden consists of
...continued acrylic leads down to the cavernous space, which Massoud’s magical sleeping quarters overlooking a rooffop terrace Mediterranean potted
might be flled simultaneously with abstract paintings in candy- and the gritty-but-glam downtown skyline. Besharat says the plants along side the
train tracks; See-
colored pastels by Spanish artist Alexandro Santana, classicist nude bedroom is a nod to his childhood in Iran. “My family didn’t have through ghost chairs by
drawings, and alarmingly realistic, expressionistic carved heads by air-conditioning, so on sultry summer nights we offen slept on the Philippe Starck and a
Spanish artist Samuel Salcedo. “I tell visitors they are my ex wives and roof where it was cooler and you could see the stars and the moon.” transparent light fixture
put the focus on the art
girlfriends!” jokes Besharat. Tucked in a corner of the gallery is his An arts haven it may be, but nomadic Besharat is not one to stay in the dining area.
prized red Harley-Davidson Duo-Glide, which he likes to take out put for long, even in his Castleberry castle. Jetting between his pied-
for long rides (accessorized by his Louis Vuitton helmet). And just a-terre in Paris (the flm location for Last Tango in Paris), art shows
outside is an urban garden tucked beneath Peters Street with train in posh places like Palm Beach, and Aspen for play, spontaneous
tracks that run parallel to Besharat’s potted cacti and lemon trees. Besharat is always on the go. Next up for the entrepreneur: La Vie
Upstairs, on level one, is the more traditional gallery and behind Salon Massoud, a boutique art hotel he is developing in Barbizon,
it, a two-story open-plan living space that encompasses Besharat’s France, with a rotating gallery of international artworks in each
private quarters—a sleek kitchen on a raised platform, and a dining suite. flere’s also his big-news collaboration this spring with Fay
and living room area punctuated by tall windows to let in light. fle Gold, whom he fondly calls “the grand dame”—a greatest hits show
rotating private collection of art, hung fioor-to-ceiling, ranges from of large-scale, experimental works, old and brand new, curated by
a portrait of French actress Charlotte Rampling to poetic paintings Gold and tapping her blue-chip cache of local and international
of light-flled interiors by Parisian artist Jean Arcelin. A nude female artists (Herb Ritts, Mike and Doug Starn, Gregor Turk, Zoe Hersey,
sculpture, painted in bright colors by artist Jean Tannous, lounges in Robert Jessup, Anthony Liggins, Jane Manus, Scott Ingram, RadcliTe
one of Besharat’s vintage leather armchairs, a fedora tilted rakishly Bailey and more). flere are even hints of future collaborations
on her head. fle furniture, like the art, is a mishmash. Sleek modern between these two powerhouse gallerists. Originally, Gold’s show
pieces such as white leather chaise lounges from Ligne Roset and took the theme “Detox”—though it has since been officially renamed
Starck Ghost chairs harmoniously cohabitate with antique tapestry “Onward.” Perhaps the name change was reasonable given the various
chairs, a French loveseat covered in Orange Crush suede, Persian interpretations that the word “detox” inspires. Gold’s defnition
rugs, and a shimmering fve-foot candelabra of Venetian glass from referenced the healing eTects of art, while Besharat oTered a playful
Murano. Exposed beams and an aluminum staircase add industrial counter defnition: “Detox means it isn’t working! Retirement didn’t
chic, while the mezzanine level boasts a daring 21st-century master work for Gold, and now she’s back!” A
bath set in a nearly all-glass cube splashed with glazed-red tiles. Most
romantic of all is Massoud’s master bedroom, up another set of stairs “Onward” opens March 19, 6-8pm, at Besharat Gallery, 175 Peters St.,
that lead to the rooffop. flere, in a glass greenhouse structure, is 404.524.4781, besharatgallery.com.
36 | | March/April 2010