IRANIAN ART IN NYC

5 shows of Iranian Art in NYC

Against a backdrop of US–Iran tension over uranium enrichment, economic sanctions, and Syria, a season of cultural dialogue has opened in New York City, where no less than five exhibitions of modern and contemporary Iranian art open this week.

1. The Asia Society

Currently showing "Iran Modern," the first major show of modern Iranian art on US soil. The 100 paintings, photos, and sculptures by 26 artists, on loan from public and private collections across the United States, Europe, and the Middle East, were created in the three decades leading up to the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

2.Tehran's Shirin Gallery

(511 W. 25th St.)

Showing  "My Name is Not Rouge," a group exhibit featuring modern interpretations of the art of the Persian miniature. The 15 artists include established Iranian stars such as Fereydoun Ave, who divides his time between Tehran, Paris, and Dubai, as well as emerging talents.

3.Taymour Grahne Gallery

(157 Hudson Street).

A newly opened space displays Nicky Nodjoumi, a Kermanshah-born artist, whose Pre-Revolution paintings are part of the Art Asia exhibit, will also have a solo show of current work at the  "Chasing the Butterfly and Other Recent Paintings," Nodjoumi, who was in his 30s during the revolution and has been based in New York since 1981, often depicts human figures engaged with bizarrely counter-poised animals as a way to explore his personal experience of alienation and dislocation while interjecting sharp political commentary.

 4. Thomas Erben Gallery

(526 W. 26th St.)

Features "Curriculum Mortis," a one-man show by Tehran-based Barbad Golshiri. Born three years after the revolution, the multimedia artist explores the boundaries between politics, national duty, and repression in a sculptural installation of a cemetery.

5.  Leila Heller Gallery

 (568 W. 25th St.)

As a part of the international artists grouped into the Calligraffiti show works from  Farhad Moshiri, the Los Angeles-based father of Iranian pop art; Pouran Jinchi, who deconstructs the Persian alphabet and traditional text in sculpture, glasswork, and prints; and Sherin Neshat, a filmmaker and photographer who superimposes calligraphy on the human figure.

Iranian Art visits the Big Apple..don't miss it

"Invaluable ... Stimulating"— New York Times

View Larger Map Iran Modern is the first major museum exhibition mounted with loans from the United States, Europe, and the Middle East to focus on Iran’s dynamic modern art scene. The exhibition spans the three decades prior to the 1979 Revolution, a period of great economic, political, and societal change in the country. By the mid-1970s Tehran, its capital city, had become an important cosmopolitan destination. Artists found new patronage especially from the government for exhibitions and festivals, such as the annual Shiraz Arts Festival, and the creation of new museums such as the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, which was actively acquiring both Iranian and international art for its collection.

The exhibition is organized thematically across two floors to highlight the broad range of styles developed during this productive period. It is not a comprehensive overview but instead the works in the exhibition serve as key examples of the pluralism and innovative spirit of the time. The exhibition begins on the second floor by introducing artists associated with the Saqqakhaneh movement, the first culturally specific modernist group of note whose works were influenced as much by Shi'ite folk art, as by pre-Islamic art and international formal strategies. The exhibition also includes sections focusing on Abstraction, Calligraphy, and Politics. Within each section, monographic highlights will allow select artists’ work to be seen in greater depth. On the third floor a timeline and a selection of ephemera from the period provide greater context for the works on view.

Through the presentation of over one hundred works by 26 artists, the exhibition chronicles the conversation between tradition and modernity and puts forward the idea of modernism as a globally interconnected phenomenon. Iran Modern illuminates an overlooked time of artistic creation that continues to resonate with contemporary artists working both inside and outside Iran.

The guest co-curators of this exhibition are Fereshteh Daftari and Layla S. Diba.

How I got into art..

With my dad being one of the greatest architects of the country and my mom who is an amazing painter, I was blessed to grow up in a family who appreciated art in every sense. I can't remember when was the first time I started painting but I do remember my mom covering a big wall of our house with them. I started getting more interested cause I could use the power of my childhood fantasy to take me wherever I wanted. I could lose track of time in the colors, could create whatever I wanted, whatever I wanted to say and maybe not wanted to say. And till this day, whenever I stand in front of a white canvas, I just get lost in time and go back to my childhood house with the big pool, with the trees all over, with the blue sky ... I'm just a child again, with wild dreams, with so many words to say, to express...