Willows by the River
A Painting Exhibition Celebrating the Splendor of Nature
Opens Saturday, October 25, 2014
Tara Gallery, Santa Monica

SANTA MONICA, CA – Tara Gallery is proud to announce its most anticipated exhibition, Willows by the River featuring a cornucopia of Iranian artists paying homage to the splendor of nature in concealment. Willows by the River will open Saturday, October 25 – Wednesday, November 26. A special opening reception will be held Saturday October 25 from 6-9 p.m.

The multifaceted assemblage includes a medley of celebrated artists currently living in Iran. Tara Gallery is honored for the rare privilege to showcase the prodigious works of Hoonaz Afaghi, Elika Ebrahimi, Pooneh Jafarinejad, Mahvash Joorabchi, Hossein Khoshraftar, Einoddin Sadeghzadeh, and Ahmad Vakili.

Each artist practices a unique and personal interpretation of nature by escaping the polluted urban life in search of the enchanting and unadulterated landscape of Iran. Efforts to reconnect with the roots of one’s land and forever maintain its ephemeral wonder on canvas is a desperately beautiful and universal gesture in a world that has come to value environmental domination over profound appreciation and respect.

“In order to create a functional industry, mankind has unfortunately sacrificed nature,” says Hossein Khoshraftar. “To rediscover nature’s meaning is an experience of light, color and reflection, without the presence of human beings.”

For others, the discovery happens despite the cacophony of city life. “My imagination and memory is sometimes my only means of travel,” says Mahvash Joorabchi. “Even while stuck in traffic, looking to my left at the lights of a busy boutique triggers the colors and textures of an autumn tree I wish to see instead.”

These artists’ distinct ways with colors, strokes, and perspective collide to create an ironically perfect harmony, one that portrays the humanity and fickleness of a natural world that would otherwise be obsolete.

Willows by the River marks and validates the impressive ingenuity and spirit of these talented Iranian artists whose varied experiences have resulted in multi-dimensional and highly praiseworthy collection.