Sussan Deyhim at Shulamit!

A must see exhibition that brings forth some of Iran’s most influential literature to the eyes of the international community; Sussan Deyhims solo exhibition titled Dawn of the Cold Season is now on display at the Shulamit Gallery in Venice, California.

The multi faceted event transforms the gallery into a giant instillation piece featuring live performance, music and vocals which were collaborated on between the artist and Golden Globe winning composer Richard Horowitz, and photographs from Deyhims rendition of the famous poems and writings of one of Iran’s most famous literary heroines Forough Farrokhzad. Farrokhzad’s works deal with the themes of beauty, age, and the fleeting and unavoidable presence of time. Deyhim felt a connection between her and the works of the young poet; she saw a lot of herself in Farrokhzad and the similar life they chose to lead as young Iranian female artists.

For me, the most inspiring aspect of this project is the opportunity to introduce the great work and sensibility of an Iranian female icon to the international community. Many Iranian intellectuals consider Forough a cultural godmother of modernist literature in Iran, but she died so young (at the age of 32) that I also think of her as our cultural daughter. A rebel with a cause, Forough spoke with awe-inspiring rawness and maturity. She was an existentialist, feminist provocateur. She was Iran’s Simone de Beauvoir, Frida Kahlo, Maya Deren and Patty Smith all rolled into one. Her work has given me the inspiration to continue my own artistic journey during my 30 years in exile from Iran.”
–Sussan Deyhim

This one of a kind exhibition will take place over a span of multiple events that should not be missed. The exhibit is in place from November 15th to January 10th at Shulamit Gallery. Additionally, the artist herself will be in the gallery on December 11th from 7 – 9 PM to do a live performance of her work AND lucky for us, celebrated art critic Peter Frank will be holding an Art Talk at the gallery on December 13th at 4 PM.

If that wasn’t enough, due to the generous grant from the esteemed Farhang Foundation which gives support to Iranian artists, Sussan Deyhim will also be doing a once in a lifetime theatre performance of this work at the Royce Hall, CAP UCLA on January 23rd 2015. Do not miss the opportunity to see this revolutionary work performed in front of a live audience!

Haft Negah 2014 // Iranian Art Expo

It’s that time of year again!

The Niavaran Culture Center in Tehran hosts the 7th annual edition of Iran’s Seven Views (Haft Neghah), an art expo coordinated by seven major art galleries.

This year, the seven original galleries have invited an additional 7 galleries to part take in the expo. The Aria, Elaheh, Dey, Golestan, Haft Samar, Valli, Mah-e Mehr, The Aran, Etemad, Hanna, Dastaan Basement, Seen, Seyhoun, and Tarrahan-e Azad galleries will all participate in this years celebrations taking place from November 14 to 28.

The exhibition will showcase paintings, sculptures, and calligraphy from 350 artists featuring 400 works that respond to this year’s exhibition motto, “Every Iranian Home, One Artwork”.

Some of the well-known artists showcasing their artworks this year include Sohrab Sepehri, Mohammad Ehsaii, Aidin Aghdashlu, Parviz Tanavoli, Iran Darrudi, Farideh Lashaii and Parvaneh Etemadi.

Make sure not to miss this one of a kind artistic event!

Film News: The First Iranian Feminist Vampire Western

While the vampire narrative is as old as time itself, it doesn’t stop the world from constantly finding new ways to appropriate it. Nowadays, several countries have taken it upon themselves to portray their versions of the familiar legend set against the backdrop of their own homeland resulting in hauntingly beautiful and honest examinations of their countries current situations and social issues. Much like Sweden’s version titled Let The Right One In set in a dark and snowy Scandinavian town, Lily Amirpour’s new Sundance acclaimed film titled A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is set in a ghost town in modern day Iran. Along with its peer, Amirpour’s version also portrays the powerful and flesh hungry villain in female form resulting in what is said to be “this years best Iranian feminist vampire film” according to Slates Culture Blog. Shot in black and white using the classic “film noir” style, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is both a visually pleasing triumph as well as a fully loaded critique on sexual politics in Iran.

For more information, please visit their site at: http://films.vice.com/a-girl-walks-home/ and watch the trailer embedded below!

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is out November 21, 2014.

Iranian Artists at Christie’s 2014 Dubai Auction [Part II]

Last week was part two of Christie’s “Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art” auction, which took place 21 October 2014 in Dubai. Out of a total of 121 lots, 31 of them were works by Iranian artists.

Christie’s reports that the auction had the highest sale total for the category since 2010, realizing a total of $12,510,875 from the $8.5 million estimate. 19 new artist records were set, including Iranian artists Bahman Mohassess and Koorosh Shishegaran.

Tavoos reports:

Highlights of the last night`s auction include “Bergere a Alamein” an artwork by the Egyptian artist Mahmoud Said (1897-1964) sold for $869,000, “Nasser and the Nationalization of the Canal” by another Egyptian artist Hamed Ewais (1919-2011) sold for $557,000 and “Untitled” by Iraqi artist Mahmoud Sabri (1927-2012) which sold for $425,000.

The record for Iranian artworks sold at the auction was set by “The Last Poet of Iran”, a painting by veteran artist and sculptor Parviz Tanavoli sold for $365,000, followed by “Untitled” a painting by Sohrab Sepehri from his “Tree Trunk” series and an artwork by Farhad Moshiri entitled “Toothpicker” which both sold for $269,000. Works by other Iranian artists such as Ali Banisadr, Manoucher Yektai, Charles-Hossein Zenderoudi, Ali Shirazi, Leyli Matin-Daftari, Houshang Pezeshknia, and many others were also sold during the last night’s auction.

All in all, a great haul for Iranian and Middle Eastern art!

Tehran Art News // 17 October 2014

Tehran Art News // 17 October 2014

The city of Tehran boasts a vibrant art scene for the end of October!

Aaran Gallery // Cut Papers
An exhibition of the works of Kamran Diba
October 17 – October 31, 2014

Golestan Gallery
Painting Exhibition by Oldooz Robatian
October 17 – October 22, 2014

Haft Samar Gallery
An exhibition of the works of Mehrzad Sotoot
October 17 – October 22, 2014

[Image credit: Aaran Gallery/Kamran Diba]

Tehran Art News // 03 October 2014

Tehran Art News // 03 October 2014

The city of Tehran boasts a vibrant art scene for the beginning of October!

Homa Art Gallery // Mensheat
An exhibition of the works of Azra Aghighi Bakhshayeshi
through 7 October, 2014.

Negah Gallery // Ojan Shirozhan
An exhibition of paintings
from 10 October – 29 October, 2014.

Golestan Gallery // Hell, Purgatory, Heaven
An exhibition of the works of Shirin Mohseni
from 3 October – 8 October, 2014.

Aaran Gallery // To The Bone
A solo exhibition from Leila Ghandchi
from 3 October, 2014.

Hossein Khosrojerdi: Redefining Home | Tara Gallery

“Fluidity—not stagnation—drives my work. As a contemporary artist whose life has been varied by circumstance and change, I refuse to be constrained by specific style or genre. I feel a responsibility as an artist to reflect the inconsistent reality we live in.” – Hossein Khosrojerdi

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Last Saturday we at Tara Gallery had the distinct privilege of hosting the opening reception of our current exhibition, Redefining Home by acclaimed Iranian artist and expatriate, Hossein Khosrojerdi. This exhibition marks Khosrojerdi’s first solo show in the US and features work from different periods of his life, from before and after his emigration from Tehran to London. His ‘mummies’ series, making objective representations of all people depicting no particular time, place or identity; his buildings series, exploring the dichotomy between the instability of foundations and its reconstruction as a new beginning; and his most recent works, abstractions of line and space, making a poignant commentary on human interactions.

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The highlight of every opening reception for us is getting the chance to chat with our audience and the promise that with each new person, there is a unique understanding of the art we hope to share. [The Persian treats don’t hurt, either!] Redefining Home runs until October 15th and the gallery is open Tuesday – Sunday, 11 – 6. Be sure to stop by and see this incredibly poignant exhibition.

Take a look at some photos from the opening and thanks to everyone who came!

Art News // 05 September 2014

Lawrie Shabibi gallery in Dubai will host Act & Application, a group exhibition that brings together six contemporary artists from around the world: Ra di Martino, littlewhitehead, Arthur Prior, David Rickard, Darren Harvey-Regan and Iranian artist, Setareh Shahbazi from September 15 to October 29, 2014.

Here’s a little background on Shabazi:

Iranian Setareh Shahbazi’s starting point for her projects is photographs: family photos, film stills, postcards, magazine clippings and more. In her series Spectral Days, Shahbazi revisits family photos she stumbled upon from her visit to Tehran in 2009, conjuring up memories of her family’s exile from Iran following the revolution. With a healthy disregard for the sanctity of photography as a mirror of reality, she breaks down the images using digital manipulation. Blending, dissolving and over-painting the images to further decontextualize her subjects she engages our imagination in read infinite possible narratives.

The exhibition will run until 29 October 2014.


Tehran’s Niavaran Cultural and Historical Complex is hosting an exhibition of paintings by the Qajar era painter Mohammad Ghaffari (1847-1940), known as Kamalolmolk, at the Sahebqaranieh Palace.

The exhibition displays 30 works by Kamalolmolk, who served as a court painter during the reign of Qajar king Nasser ad-Din Shah.

In this busiest period of Kamal-ol-Molk’s artistic life, he created over 170 paintings. Unfortunately, most of these paintings have either been destroyed or taken abroad.

The works he created in this period indicate his desire to discover the laws of oil painting. He advanced so much that he even acquired laws of perspective by himself and applied them to his works. His mastery in the delicate use of a brush was well as bright and lively colors distinguished him from his contemporaries.

The exhibition runs until September 24th.


Tehran Art News // 29 August 2014

Tehran Art News // 29 August 2014

The city of Tehran boasts a vibrant art scene – here’s a selection of galleries with exhibitions going on in September!

Mah Art Gallery
Mah Gallery’s Summer Exhibition is a group show featuring 51 artists
Exhibition runs from August 15 – September 15, 2014
http://www.mahartgallery.com/en/

Homa Art Gallery
“Flower ? Flower” By Saleh Sharifi
August 29 – September 9, 2014
http://www.homaartgallery.com/en/_default.aspx

Golestan Gallery
Jewelry Exhibition of Reyhaneh Raei
August 29 – September 3, 2014
http://golestangallery.com/

Aun Gallery
Solo Exhibition
“Untitled” by Khosrow Hassanzadeh
August 29 – September 21, 2014
http://www.aungallery.com/

Art by Emerging Iranian Artists to be shown in NYC

Curated by Roya Khajavi-Heidari and Masud Nader, Rogue Space Gallery in NYC presents PORTRAITS: REFLECTIONS BY EMERGING IRANIAN ARTISTS. [via Tehran Times]

Works by a group of emerging Iranian artists will be showcased in an exhibition at the Rogue Space Gallery in New York during September.

The works have been selected by Roya Khajavi-Heidari and Masud Nader for the exhibit entitled “Portraits: Reflections by Emerging Iranian Artists”.

Paintings, photos, sculptures, and mixed media and video works by over 20 artists, including Ahmad Morshedlu, Alishia Morasaii, Arash Sedaqatkish, Babak Bidarian, Bahar Behbahani, Dadbeh Basir, Hossein Edalatkhah, Jinus Taqizadeh, Morteza Purhosseini, Nasser Bakhshi, Samira Alikhanzadeh, and Sepanta Qasemkhani, will be put on display at the exhibition, which will be held from September 17 to 29.

The artists were born, raised and educated in the United States.

“The emphasis on emerging Iranian art does not aim to ghettoize the artists either geographically or philosophically,” Khajavi-Heidari and Nader said in a press release.

“Rather, by holding such a show in New York City—the epicenter of the global contemporary art market—we hope to highlight the talent of these seldom-recognized artists and to celebrate their courage, stamina and love of their craft,” they added.