Welcome to Gabour's world – where tradition and innovation Digital intertwine.
Film Production
Art Gallery
About the Artist: Gabour (Abolfazl Bayat)
THE FIRST FIXED SAND PAINTINGS ON GLASSA Historic Invention & Exclusive CIPO Copyright
A Historic Breakthrough in Contemporary Fine Art: The World’s First CIPO-Copyrighted Fixed Sand Paintings on Glass
In a landmark convergence of visual arts and material chemistry, I have achieved an unprecedented technical revolution in the path of sand art on glass—officially registered with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO on Sept 21, 2026). Independent of the initial artistic creation, the curing process operates with microscopic precision, permanently locking millions of sand grains together over 4 to 7 days (depending on the scale and volume of the piece) without displacing a single particle.
This registered innovation creates and offers two distinct visual scales: touchable particles across portions of the artwork under ambient light, and in another model, a breathtaking glow from within the frame under backlit illumination in the dark.
These tangible and pioneering creations deliver a luxury, innovative, and unique artistic experience in contemporary art—designed specifically for private collectors, prestigious museums, and luxury boutique hotels.
Open Brush VR Video Gallery
Interactive 3D Experiences
Step in and spend time within these digital environments. Navigate through spaces designed in Virtual Reality and explore my latest creations made in Open Brush."I invite you to view this character in a 3D environment."
Character Animation & Movement Experiments — Quill VR
"This collection features personal character animation tests, movement experiments, and visual style explorations created within Quill VR.
The pieces reflect a combination of current events, personal observations, and subtle political contexts, brought together through music. It represents an ongoing creative journey focused on mastering spatial animation tools while translating personal narrative concepts into immersive 3D space."
Project Overview
Project: Character Animation & Movement Experiments
Role: VR Animator & Concept Artist
Tools Used: Meta Quest 3, Quill by Smoothstep VR, CapCut
Music: Alex Morgan — Animation Music Cartoon Fun (Pixabay
Storyboard & Cinematic Decoupage Portfolio
"Visual storytelling and precise shot planning form the backbone of effective filmmaking. This portfolio section highlights storyboarding, camera placement, and decoupage exercises designed to explore narrative pacing, composition, and dynamic scene transitions.
Through action sequences, character-driven moments, and spatial continuity studies, these animatics demonstrate the transition from initial concept to structured visual flow."
Featured Project: Action Sequence Study
Project: Zombie Attack Action Sequence (Animatic Reel)
Focus: Visual Rhythm, Dynamic Framing & Action Decoupage
Role: Director & Storyboard Artist
Tools Used: Procreate, CapCut
“Halloween in Gabour’s Galaxy”
The special event “Halloween in Gabour’s Galaxy” took place on Halloween night, 2025, right in Gabor’s personal and local studio setting.
This local exhibition was designed around the concept of “Between Worlds”—an idea navigating the space between the galaxy and Earth, and the borders of identity. The event offered a unique opportunity for guests to directly experience Gabour's work in an intimate atmosphere. It featured a small, curated exhibition of Gabor’s recent expressive works, characterized by a surreal, space-focused mood.
The highlight of the evening was a live Sand Performance executed in three segments (Arrival, Connection, and Becoming). The space was designed with limited, dark lighting to accentuate the subtle movement of the sand and the light layers, creating a unified experience that blended the art with the studio environment.
Let me know if you need any adjustments or another translation!
“The Little Prince” Cultural Event
The Little Prince Event – December 5, 2024
On December 5, 2024, Eera Art Café in Montreal hosted a special cultural and artistic gathering dedicated to The Little Prince, organized by Fatima Nikravish.
The event featured the launch of the newest Persian translation of The Little Prince by Ali Shokrolahi, followed by a live discussion, reading, and conversation exploring the book’s philosophical themes.
Gabour contributed with a live sand painting performance and an exhibition of sand-art-inspired works based on The Little Prince.
A warm, intimate, and inspiring evening filled with art, literature, and shared reflection.
Venue: Eera Art Café – Montreal, QC
Solo Exhibition _Casa Italia
Exhibition & Live Sand Painting Performance Casa Italia Gallery – Montreal, Canada Year: 2023
Techniques: Expressive Painting, Live Sand Painting on Glass
This solo exhibition presented a collection of Gabour’s expressive paintings at the historic Casa d’Italia gallery in Montreal.
Complementing the displayed works, Gabour performed his signature glass sand painting—a transient act that merges movement, light, and raw material.
The live performance explored themes of creation, transformation, and cultural memory, dissolving the boundaries between painting and performance art.
Art as a Voice:
Live Performances by Gabour in Montreal
Gabour’s 2022-2023 artistic season was marked by two significant live performances in Montreal, where he utilized sand art and painting to bridge the gap between ancient Persian epics and contemporary social movements.
1. The Khordadgan Festival: "Zahhak" (The Shahnameh)
St. Petersburg Hall, Concordia University
In this academic and cultural collaboration, Gabour presented a live sand art sequence for a theatrical production of "Zahhak" from Ferdowsi's Shahnameh. The performance focused on translating the narrative elements of the epic into fluid visual transitions, serving as the live backdrop for the stage narration.
2. The Voice of Iran: Support for the Mahsa Revolution
Centre Culturel Georges-Vanier
Dedicated to supporting those affected by the Mahsa Revolution in Iran, this event featured a two-part performance by Gabour. He combined Sand Art Narration with Live Acrylic Action Painting to capture the courage and resilience of the movement. This project was a powerful testament to the role of visual arts in international social solidarity.
Art Battle – International Live Painting Tournament
Gabour has competed in multiple editions of Art Battle Montréal, an international live painting tournament. During these competitions, he reached the Final Round twice, creating works that were subsequently sold at auction. For Gabour, these performances are a practice in immediate and raw expression, where the creative process occurs entirely in the present moment, transforming the act of painting into a shared experience with the viewer.
Defying the Norms: The Untold Mobile Craftsmanship Behind the Animal Wrld Phenomenon"
The 3-Stage Mobile Pipeline & Deconstructing ToolsIn the early days of my migration, without access to complex computer setups, my smartphone became my sole digital canvas. During a Clubhouse art workshop, when it was claimed that Web3 success requires expensive tools and high-end training, I challenged that notion—driven by my belief that a true artist can create out of even the simplest tools. I designed and executed an exclusive 3-stage pipeline entirely on my phone
Stage 1: Mastering an obscure, obsolete app (not even available on Google Play, where color selection was done numerically) and converting its geometric spiral patterns into a free, single-stroke brush.
Stage 2: Applying distortion, 3D structuring, and multidimensional symmetry using Mirror Lab
Stage 3: Color grading, lighting adjustments, and final polishing using Snapseed on the same device.
By designing entirely by hand through finger touch across these three stages, I achieved a striking visual depth, living texture, and organic complexity that led most audiences to assume the work was created with AI or complex 3D software. Yet, it was entirely the product of authentic human craftsmanship and deconstructing forgotten tools
The NFT & Market Impact
This innovation created a striking distinction in a market filled with visually stunning graphic works. By directly transferring emotion and finger movement onto a smartphone screen, the resulting collection—Animal Wrld—achieved explosive success. It became one of October 2021’s top-selling records on OpenSea, completely selling out, and captured the attention of prominent NFT collectors worldwide, including Snoop Dogg (Cozomo de' Medici)—standing as proof that authentic human mastery and conceptual defiance build true value in digital art
Life in the Style of Servitude — Wordless Musical TV Series
"Commissioned in 2016 by Iranian state television (IRIB), 'Life in the Style of Servitude' is a 30-episode wordless, musical live-action series. Marking my debut as a live-action director, the project challenged me to transform a traditional broadcast brief into a universal visual experience.
To move away from verbal rhetoric, the series was conceptualized entirely without dialogue. By relying on action, ethics, and a gentle musical narrative, the episodes explore mutual social responsibility and cultural identity through a relatable, visual language."
Project Overview
Project: Life in the Style of Servitude (30-Episode Series)
Role: Director & Storyboard Designer
Production: Bayat Brothers Cultural-Artistic Institute
Broadcaster: IRAN Channel 8 (2016)
Format: Live-Action / Wordless & Musical (5 Mins per Episode)
Path of Life"
The First Sand Art Narrative TV Series (90 Episodes)
Description:
"From an artistic and technical standpoint, 'Path of Life' pushed sand art beyond short live performances, transforming it into the first 90-episode sand photo-novel series in international broadcast history.
Although my beliefs and worldview today are vastly different from the time this series was created, this work holds a special place in my portfolio due to its role in changing the trajectory of my life. Below is a selection of frames from this project."
Project Overview
Project: Path of Life (Sand Photo-Novel TV Series)
Distinction: World's First 90-Episode Sand Art TV Series
Episodes: 90 Episodes (3 Seasons)
Broadcaster: IRAN Channel 8 (2016)
Role: Director, Storyboard Designer & Sand Performance Artist
Goat and Kid — Stop-Motion Animated Series & Visual Development
"I have always loved exploring different fields in the art world—paths that challenge me and push my creative boundaries. The stop-motion series 'Goat and Kid' was one of those distinct experiences, where I took full responsibility for shaping the visual world as the Character Designer, Storyboard Artist, Environment Designer, and 2D Title Sequence Creator.
Ultimately, the visual identity of the project stood out at the festival, leading to the Honorary Diploma for Best TV Production at the 7th Tehran International Animation Festival (2010–2011)."
Project Overview
Project: Goat and Kid (Stop-Motion Animated Series)
Role: Character Designer, Storyboard Artist, Environment Designer & 2D Title Sequence Creator
Year: 2010–2011
Accolade: Honorary Diploma for Best TV Production (7th Tehran International Animation Festival)
(Visual Artist with Multiple Art style)
Traditional and Digital:
Sand Art_ Ink_ Acrylic_ Pastel...
3D VR Art_ digital Mobile Artist)(Animation & Filmmaker)
Story teller & Story BoardDirectorConcept Character & Environment
Animator Art Mentor
Gabour (Abolfazl Bayat) is a pioneering Iranian-Canadian multidisciplinary visual artist based in Montreal. Gabour's creative path began at the age of three, with early support from his mother
. Today, Gabor's professional portfolio stands as testimony to the seamless fusion of classical visual arts, traditional animation, and cutting-edge digital innovations including sand art, digital painting, and virtual reality (VR).
In his artistic journey, Gabour blends the boundaries between tradition and technology. Using diverse materials, Gabour creates conceptual worlds that invite the viewer into diverse realms of intuition, blurring the line between imagination and reality.
(Academic Education)Bachelors degree in Film Directing
Associate Degree in Animation Filmmaking
Diploma in Visual ArtsBeginning of Professional Activity Gabour officially began his professional activity in 2001, concurrently with high school studies. His career started with the studio children's TV series "Amin and Mina" (directed by Karim Sarbakhsh), where Gabour served as set decorator and creator of visual space for the puppet section.
(Animation and Film Production Experience)2014 to 2016: Director, storyboard designer, and sand art executor – 90-episode_3 seasons, sand photo-novel series "Path of Life" (broadcast on Iran Channel 8). is the first narrative series created with the sand technique in the world.
2016: Director and storyboard designer – 30-episode wordless musical series "Life in he style of Serviude" (broadcast on Iran Channel 8).
2010-2011: Character designer, space designer, and 2D title creator – stop-motion animation "Goat and Kid" (winner of Honorary Diploma for Best TV Production, 7th Tehran International Animation Festival).
2010: Storyboard and character designer – "Kod Khoda" series (producer: Mehri Sarkheil).
(Management Experience)2008 to 2018: Board member and graphics department manager – Bayat Brothers Cultural-Artistic Institute.
(Success in Digital Art and NFT)Market In October 2021, Gabour's art collection "Animal Wrld" (painted with finger touch on mobile) ranked among the top three best-selling albums of the month on OpenSea, with one piece purchased by the renowned collector Cozomo de' Medici (Snoop Dogg).
(Teaching Experience)2022 (Montreal): Art instructor at Saint-Henri Library (Bibliothèque Saint-Henri) for children of language learners at Centre Saint-Paul.
2007: Character design instructor at Kanoon (workshop with master Abdullah Alimorad).
2002 & 2004: Instructor at Tehran Animation House and Youth Cultural Center.
Instructor at Bayat Brothers Cultural-Artistic Institute.
