Iranian Art Rocks Christie’s Auction in Dubai

Posted on 8 April 20159 April 2015 by Tara Gallery

08 Apr

Iranian art was a big hit at Christie’s Dubai auction this year!

Christie’s Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish art auction was held on March 18, 2015. Many Iranian artists were exhibited including female artist Monir Farmanfarmaian whose piece Zahra’s Image sold for an astounding $395,000 making it one of the biggest highlights of this years auction, and a record for the artist.

Monir Farmanfarmaian, Zahar’s Image, 2009

All the Iranian art offered this year was sold!

Another prominent Iranian artist who had his work for sale was Hossein Zenderoudi, whose piece sold for a staggering $293,000.

Charles Hossein Zenderoudi is a renowned Iranian painter and sculptor, known especially as a pioneer of Iranian modern art. In a previous Christi’s International Dubai auction, Zenderoudi’s work, Tchaar Bagh, sold for $1.6 million.

Hossein Zenderoudi, Tchaar Bagh, 1981

Tehran native and painter Rokni Haerizadeh had a piece that sold for $221,000 breaking his record for amount paid for one of his works.

Haerizadeh uses painting as a means to critique the hypocritical aspects of his culture. For example, Haerizadeh’s Typical Iranian Wedding ironically describes the rigmarole of getting hitched, Persian style.

Rokni Haerizadeh, Typical Iranian Wedding, 2008

Other artists included in this year’s auction were abstract painter Sohrab Sepehri, calligraphy paintings by Mohammad Ehsaii, as well as a painting by Kurosh Shishegaran.

The highest lot sold at the auction however did not belong to an Iranian artist. It went to Egyptian artist Tahia Halim whose piece sold for a staggering $749,000.

Nonetheless, it was evident from past as well as this years auction, that Iranian art has a strong following and support from the international Art World.

Iranian artists ranging in age and gender are taking the international art scene by storm, and we can be sure that at this rate, they will not be loosing traction any time soon.

First Female Iranian Artist to Have Solo Show at Guggenheim

Posted on 19 March 2015 by Tara Gallery

19 Mar

For one artist, her dreams finally came true at the age of 92 when she was selected to be the first Iranian female artists to have a solo show at the famous Guggenheim Museum in New York City.

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian is a visual artist best known for her geometric style and mirrored sculptures. She has been living in New York since the 1950s, walking past the Guggenheim Museum every single day, not knowing that one-day she would be so honored as to show her own work there.

Farmanfarmaian was born in Qazvin in 1924 and studied Fine Arts at the University of Tehran. When she came to the United States, she proceeded to continue on in her Fine Arts education at Cornell University, as well as Parsons School of Design.

During her school years in New York City, she was absorbed into the thriving art world. She had become friends with the one and only Andy Warhol. They bonded over their passion for fashion illustration and design and even went on to exchange prints.

In 1957 Farmanfarmaian got married and moved back to Iran. She began to show her works in small galleries as well as collect art. Her style back then could be said to have been more traditional folk.

It was during her visit to the United States in 1978 that troubles at home arose with the beginning of the Revolution. Both her and her husband ended up being exiled and having to remain in the States until 1992 when they finally got to go back home. During her stay in exile, Farmanfarmaian was able to focus on her work and develop the visual style she uses in her work today.

Farmanfarmaian’s retrospective at the Guggenheim spans across four decades of the artists work. She has equated her initial inspiration for her style to being a little girl and staring up at her ceiling every night before bed, which was painted with various shapes and flowers.

You can see this beautiful exhibition titled Infinite Possibility: Mirror Works and Drawings 1974 – 2014 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City until June 3, 2015.

Much Ado About ‘Heech’: Parviz Tanavoli Retrospective at the Davis Museum

Posted on 6 March 2015 by Tara Gallery

06 Mar

175 works by Parviz Tanavoli – long since hailed as the “father of modern Iranian sculpture” – is currently on display at the Davis Museum at Wellesley College. This is the first retrospective of Tanavoli’s work held by a museum in the U.S., and the first exhibition of his work in the U.S. since 1976. Spanning the last 50 years of Tanavoli’s career, the retrospective centers on his ‘Heech’ sculptures (the Persian word for ‘nothingness’ and a concept in Sufi philosophy) for which he is most widely recognized, but will also represent works on other mediums such as paint, printmaking, jewelry, and ceramics.

So. Why ‘Heech’? In 2012, Tanavoli was interviewed by the Huffington Post wherein he is asked by the interviewer why he focuses on ‘Heech’ in his artwork. His answer was singularly profound:

Not only was it the attraction of this word — the word and meaning of Heech is so beautiful — but it was also the elegance of the figure of Heech. The slope and elasticity of Heech — the way it can smoothly turn around and associate with chairs and tables and walls and cases and any surrounding objects or space is something I like. And besides that, of course, Heech has a rich story and a long history in our poetry and in our Sufism. It is not simple nothingness. It is a nothingness that voices the wholeness of being. This figure — Heech — makes you think about all of this: of being and not being. Heech, to me, is one word that alone tells the whole story of humanity.

What he says strikes me because the written word is pretty much just visual symbols of the language we use to communicate, yet we never stop to think of words and their physical forms. We don’t consider how perhaps there is more than is being visually communicated to us than just spoken language. Letters, words, written language – they have a physical form that can serve as yet another platform to communicate meaning. A visual structure that reflects the very concepts it conveys linguistically.

Tell me that’s not cool.

To say I admire Tanavoli’s work is an understatement. There are a lot of people who may find the repetition motifs of ‘Heech’ spanning fifty years of one artist’s work to be off-putting or ordinary, but to me it is a testament to those inherent compulsions to completely gut and examine the concepts we find deeply rooted in our cultures. It’s beautiful, and compelling, and so very important.

The retrospective is co-curated by Lisa Fischman; Ruth Gordon Shapiro ’37 Director; and Dr. Shiva Balaghi, Brown University and runs until 7 June, 2015. If you are in the area, most definitely check this exhibition out.

56th Venice Biennale features 30 Iranian Artists

Posted on 3 March 20153 March 2015 by Tara Gallery

03 Mar

As Italy has always been one of the leading epicenters for the Arts in Europe, it is only natural that they are the home to one of the biggest international art expositions in the world. The Venice Biennale, also knows as La Biennale di Venezia takes place every two years throughout various locations in Venice, Italy. This year from May 9th to November 22nd is the 56th edition of this international art exhibit featuring representations from 53 countries from around the world! Iran will have an astounding 30 artists on display to illustrate the many facets of Iranian art, both historic and contemporary.

The theme chosen for this year is “ All the Worlds Futures “, which curator Okwui Enwezor describes as:

“The ruptures that surround and abound around every corner of the global landscape today recall the evanescent debris of previous catastrophes piled at the feet of the angel of history in Angelus Novus. How can the current disquiet of our time be properly grasped, made comprehensible, examined, and articulated? Over the course of the last two centuries the radical changes have made new and fascinating ideas subject matter for artists, writers, filmmakers, performers, composers, musicians. It is with this recognition that the 56th International Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia proposes All the World’s Futures a project devoted to a fresh appraisal of the relationship of art and artists to the current state of things”

The artists who will represent Iran will be chosen by a large council of international curators, along side the high council of the Tehran Museum as well as private sectors. The area allocated to Iran in the festival spans across 2,000 square meters. The director of Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Majid Mollanoruzi, has noted that various kinds of works will be exhibited including painting, sculptures, calligraphy works, and instillation pieces. Mollanoruzi exclaims, “We aim to introduce Persian art at the biennial in the best way possible, and great masters and artists including veterans, youth and females will be selected to represent an image of all contemporary art of Iran”.

This news could not be more exciting for Iran and Iranian art. This will be Iran’s 5th time participating in this international exhibition bringing forth Iranian artists as leading participants in the global art scene.

Stay tuned to find out which artists have been chosen!

La Biennale di Venezia
When: May 9th – November 22nd, 2015
Where: Venice, Italy (Giardini and Arsenale)

Through The Eyes of Women: Female Photography of Iran and the Arab World

Posted on 20 February 2015 by Tara Gallery

20 Feb

One of arts essential qualities is its ability to break molds. Stereotypes are perpetuated through media and other outlets that shape and decide our knowledge for us. It is up to the individual to look past these so-called norms and search for a brighter and more honest truth. One place where we can find this truth is in the art produced by a society or culture. Media tends to express only one viewpoint, and most often it is not even coming from a direct source. Artists are by nature a direct source for commentary on their surroundings and the ideologies of those surroundings. They live and breathe these experiences that they choose to share with the rest of the world. Through examining various artists and their experiences, an outsider is allowed to see the world through their eyes.

A common stereotype revolves around the role and experience of women in Iran and some neighboring Arab countries. They are often seen as sufferers of oppression and strict lifestyle. While this may be the common experience, it is not the only experience of these women.

On view now at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California is She Who Tells A Story, a telling exhibit comprising of 12 female photographers from Iran and the Arab world. The 81 works that make up this exhibit deal with issues such as identity, representation, and war in daily life. Instead of viewing themselves as oppressed, these women represent themselves as powerful females despite their surroundings. They do not hide the truths of their situation, as they want the world to know their experience. However, they do not want that to be their only representation.

The photographers featured in this exhibition are Jananne Al-Ani, Boushra Almutawakel, Gohar Dashti, Rana El Nemr, Lalla Essaydi, Shadi Ghadirian, Tanya Habjouqa, Rula Halawani, Nermine Hammam, Rania Matar, Shirin Neshat, and Newsha Tavakolian. Each photographer’s work tells a different story resulting in an all-around expression of female experience. While Shirin Neshats photographs deal with the woman’s role and participation in the Iranian Revolution, Shadi Ghadirian’s photographs of women dressed in traditional attire surrounded by forbidden objects juxtapose the woman’s struggle to keep her tradition while chasing after her freedom.

Not only does each artists deal with a slightly different aspect of these over riding themes, what makes these works so unique is the fact that ever woman has a different story; her own story. Through producing these works they allow us to see into their lives and into the lives of women like them. All equally different, but common in their strive to not be marginalized.

Art has the ability to change perceptions. It is powerful and essential in keeping the world honest and pure. When in doubt, read between the paint strokes.

She Who Tells A Story: Woman Photographers from Iran and the Arab World
January 28 – May 4, 2015 at Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University

Importance of Photojournalism: 30 Years in Iran

Posted on 13 February 201519 February 2015 by Tara Gallery

13 Feb

The medium of photography is unique in its ability to capture reality. While that is less true of modern day photography with its ability to be altered, edited, and selectively shot, photographs are none the less imprints of something real. The power of a photograph can move people to see and feel things in new ways, different ways, and ways they never imagined. It allows us to see people, places, and things that are out of our immediate reach. Fashion photography shows us the beautiful and desired. Travel photography allows us to roam the world without ever having to leave our home. Personal photography enables us to capture our favorite moments and physically immortalize them. Last but not least, photojournalism opens the doors between borders, cultures, and governments. Photojournalism can range between political to historic. Some photojournalism is even accidental, unaware of its impact or importance. If one was to define it, you could say it is a form of journalism that uses photography to tell a story.

In the case of U.S photojournalist Randy Hope Goodman, she has traveled to Iran several times throughout her lifetime in order to photograph citizens and their daily lives. By going to Iran at variously different periods of time, she was able to capture a multifaceted view of this country.

Her first time visiting Iran was in 1979 during the post-revolution period. She was there when a group of students seized the U.S embassy in Tehran. On another visit, she got the opportunity to tour the Iran-Iraq war zone, which led her to the most exclusive liberty of photographing Imam Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran. She proudly notes that she was the only American photojournalist to ever photograph Khomeini. Most of her other subject matter revolved around soldiers as well as civilians in their daily lives and how they were impacted during the Iran-Iraq war and the Islamic Revolution. After 30 years since her first visit, Goodman is returning back to Iran to take photographs and compare the past and present. Whether this project will be on going for the journalist, or this trip will close the series, this body of work that spans across 30 years of Iranian history will be iconic in its nature and content.

Photojournalists like Goodman are the reason people from all different parts of the world can be represented and no longer kept invisible to the public sphere. Her work allows us access to a part of the world that some of us may never see. Some journalists risk and dedicate their lives to their work, making sure that the truth is represented. It is their bravery that gives their work its meaning and honesty.

Goodman hopes to one day turn her body of work into a book. We cannot be sure what story this book will tell, but we can be sure that it will be one we do not want to miss.

Click here to view Goodmans’ images of Iran

Portals by art collective Shared Studios

Posted on 30 January 201519 February 2015 by Tara Gallery

30 Jan

We may not be as close to cracking the science of teleportation, but the technology of the 21st century has allowed us to get pretty close. With the invention of texting, video chat, face time, and social media as a whole, more than ever, we’re able to cross the boundaries of the world. Without the need for physical travel, people from all over the world have been able to connect with each other. This process of globalization has opened many new doors in the world of business, economy, politics, as well as the arts.

A recent art project led by the contemporary art company Shared Studios launched their project Portals in December 2014. Portals is an international installation piece, comprising of two gold painted shipping containers placed on opposite sides of the world ¬¬– one in Tehran and the other in New York City. Inside each shipping container is a camera and a large screen which streams live to the other container. Viewers are invited to come into the container and for 15 minutes speak to a stranger on the other side of the world. One of the most fascinating aspects of this project is what participants choose to talk about. The relationship between America and Iran has not always been the greatest politically or socially, however the words exchanged between participants have not been ones of hatred or criticism. Instead they have been ones of curiosity and admiration. Most participants have chosen to exchange questions about each other’s lives. Common topics include childhood, hobbies, desires, future goals, or shared interests. Despite the vast cultural differences between these two peoples, many participants from both countries have come to realize how many similarities we share as human beings. Artworks like this that comment on human connection and the global sphere are essential to the attempt to bring understanding and acceptance between varying cultures on a social and political level.

Over 650 people have participated in this project so far, each leaving with a difference experience. While some walked out of the container laughing and filled with joy, others came out weeping and overwhelmed. The range of emotions to come out of a project like this one are always unpredictable. Coming face-to-face with a stranger from a part of the world we would never have had the chance to meet outside of this project is revolutionary and powerful in itself. While countries will always have their borders, due to the innovative technology of our time, there will no longer be borders between people. This art project is only the beginning for this type of global expansion, and while there is much work to be done, the art world is as good a place as any to start.

Click here to read an article on NPR transcribing one of these encounters

Festival of Iranian Films 2015

Posted on 9 January 201528 January 2015 by Tara Gallery

09 Jan

Hailing from Iran, artistic director Kaveh Daneshmand holds the 4th edition of the Festival of Iranian Films (FIF) in Prauge, Czech Republic. The film buff first started the festival in his 20’s and has watched it grow over the years into a full-fledged competitive film event.

The theme of this year’s festival is “Rebels of Iranian Cinema”, which will comprise of 20 films competing in four separate categories: Feature Film, Out of Competition, Documentary, and Short Film. Winners will be based off of various factors such as the top pick of the audience as well as a Jury panel of highly credited and important persons in both the Iranian and Czech film/TV world. With over 150 films being made in the Islamic Republic every year, there is something to be said about the importance and effect of these chosen 20 films. Most of the films featured are made with an extremely low budget, and therefore are not chosen or judged based on their wow factor or political effect. Instead, the films are chosen based on “high artistic values and a brave approach to their subject matter”.

Daneshmand notes the difference between the current young filmmakers claiming, “unlike the previous generation, this one is not going through metaphors: They go straight to the heart of the topic.” This rebellious and straightforward vision of the young generation of filmmakers may have been what inspired the theme of this year’s festival. One possible reason for this new wave of directness may relate to the recent leniency from the Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry, which requires all scripts to be approved before release. One film that has been creating a lot of buzz since it’s release in 2013 is Shahram Mokri’s film Fish & Cat (Mahi Va Gorbeh). The movie is filmed in one long single take and depicts a restaurant that serves human flesh. Seen as a more provocative film, the Ministry did allow the film to be screened in selected theatres for a short time, resulting in sold-out screenings all over Iran. One of the most known films featured in this year’s festival is the dark vampire flick titled A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, which has already been screened across the world including in the United States. Iranian- American director Lilly Amirpour is one of many female directors whose films are featured in this year’s festival; Daneshmand noting that one-quarter of Iranian filmmakers are in fact women.

This year the festival will take place not only in Prague where it originated, but it is to be extended to the city of Brno. This extension shows just how popular and respected this festival is in the Czech Republic, and its success in representing and exposing Iranian films and filmmakers to a wider audience.

Fourth Festival of Iranian Films
When: Jan. 7–11 in Prague; Jan. 13–15 in Brno
Where: Kino Světozor and Bio Oko in Prague; Kino Scala in Brno
Tickets: 100–110 Kč
Iranianfilmfestival.cz

via www.praguepost.com

Shirin Neshat Film at BNLMTL 2014

Posted on 19 December 201428 January 2015 by Tara Gallery

19 Dec

Taking place in the heart of Montréal is this years multifaceted art event BNLMTL 2014 (Biennale de Montréal) which was originally launched in 1998 by the Centre international d’art contemporain de Montréal. The BNLMTL’s mission is simple :

“The mission of La Biennale de Montréal is to foster, support, interpret and disseminate the most current visual arts practices by producing the biennial event BNLMTL. In this way, La Biennale de Montréal offers a wide audience a privileged opportunity to grasp the esthetic and social issues addressed by today’s art. La Biennale de Montréal also provides an international platform for Québec and Canadian artists, curators, theoreticians, art critics and researchers working in various fields to meet, encounter and discuss cutting-edge practices, and contribute to different international networks.”

via http://bnlmtl2014.org/en/about/about-bnlmtl/

The giant art expo features over 60 artists, including the celebrated Iranian female visual artist Shirin Neshat. Exhibiting her latest film, Illusions & Mirrors (2013), which deals with themes such as the self and seeing one’s self from a distance or the outside. This black and white short film stars world renowned actress Natalie Portman as a woman exploring her hazy memories and hallucinations. We are presented with various scenes such as Portman on the shore running through sand dunes, seeing a blurry male figure in the distance, following this figure up a flight of stairs, and lastly pressed up against a window looking out into the distance.

You can view the trailer below:

Ancient Meets Contemporary Event Success!

Posted on 13 December 201420 February 2015 by Tara Gallery

13 Dec

What a wonderful turnout we had at our latest opening exhibition Ancient Meets Contemporary featuring the works of Iranian painter and sculptor Chahab. As the guests poured in through out the night, so did their appraisals of the beautiful and captivating works that hung on the walls of Tara Gallery.

“I’m an artist because it is my spiritual need and livelihood. To thrive, I must remain in a perpetual movement of creation” – Chahab

This perpetual movement that drives the artist Chahab was evident across the walls of Tara Gallery on Saturday as visitors were astounded in the utter beauty this collection holds. The sandy yellow, fire truck red, rosie pink, and cobalt blue hues of Chababs pieces create a natural flow of movement through the room as viewers look from one painting to another. Contrasting the harsh white walls of the gallery, Chahab’s colors evoke a drastic distinction of calming pastels with vibrant pigments. His forms interpret familiar shapes, historic elements, and dream like images that leaves each viewer finding a piece of them self within it. As one guest was asked to pick her favorite, her response exclaimed ” I find something different I love about each one”. As wine was poured and laughs were had, Chahab’s art hung on the walls amongst the other guests as if they were waiting to be examined. The intricacies of each work ask for such attention to detail, that viewers found themselves exploring each piece for a multitude of moments; every second finding a new line or saturation of color that they did not notice before. It is safe to say that whatever force of movement drives this artist, it is taking him in his best direction. If creativity is his fuel, then his works are a direct result of the artist’s drive to create something filled with life and expression.

As a special treat for the visitors, Chahab him self was present at the opening giving a special Art Talk on his works, doing a signing of his self titled book Chahab as well as meeting some of his biggest fans! Here are a few photos from the opening. If you missed it, the works are on display at Tara Gallery until January 15th. Do no miss the opportunity to see these wonderfully intricate works in person!