“Roots and Stones”, a gift from Tony Cragg, unveiled at Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art

TEHRAN – “Roots and Stones”, a huge abstract marble sculpture donated by British artist Tony Cragg, was unveiled in the courtyard of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art on Sunday April 29, 2018.  The ceremony was attended by the Turner Prize-winner Cragg and a number of cultural officials and Iranian artists. “Read more” 

18th Iranian Film Market Showcases 150 Iranian Films

The 18th Iranian Film Market runs from April 27th – May 2nd, 2015. Several Iranian film organizations such as, Farabi Cinematic Foundation, Press TV, Deayat Media, IIDCYA, Hozeye Honari, Eshragh Institute, IRIB Channels, and DEFC, have been presenting their films to the foreign guests of the 33rd Annual Fajr Film Festival.

Below are some of the films being shown this year:

We Have Guests, Angels Come Together, Mezar Sharif, Rana’s Silence, Nahid, 360 Degrees, Wednesday 19th Ordibehesht, Haji Shah, Fatness, Time For Love, Confessions of My Dangerous Mind, The Blue Sky of My Mother, Iran Burger, Paris to Paris, Morning of the 7th Day, Bet, Father of the Other, I Am a Mother, All That Men Do Not Know about Women, Bloody Wednesday, Parviz, One Night, A Man Who Became a Horse, From Tehran to Heaven, Dandruff, Red Carpet, Snow, Two, Closer, Taboo, Rainy Station, and We Are All Alone.

Documentaries presented by DEFC include: Atlan, I Want to Be a King, Mr. Workless, The Dolls Do Not Know, Fried Fish, The Host, The Law of the Jungle, Champions, and the Robes.

In addition to the films mentioned above, over 300 short, animated, and feature-length films will also be shown to international guests. Maryam Naghibi, head of the Iran Film Market, said more than 300 short films, animated films and feature films were presented to international guests.

This is an incredible event where people from all over the world gather to see what Iran’s filmmakers have to offer. Delagates from film festivals around the world, producers, filmmakers, and those eager for collaboration all attend the Film Market to make connections, network, and perhaps find cinematic gems to share with audiences at home.

[Image via Tehran Times]

Contemporary Artist Y.Z Kami at Gagosian

“When you go through the process of looking at a face and you meditate on it with pigments and brushes in hand, it is like living with the face. In a way, it becomes part of you.”
—Y.Z. Kami

Famed Iranian born painter Y.Z Kami is having an exhibit at the Gagosian Gallery in London, UK. His exhibit featuring various painting of people, domes, and hands in prayer will run from April 8th until May 30th, 2015.

According to the Gagosian Gallery website, Kami’s portraits of introspective subjects project a broad and inviting presence. Using his own photographs of family, friends, and strangers as source material, he depicts faces as vessels to convey an almost sacred and universal atmosphere of reflection, often with eyes closed as though in meditation.

The matte surface of his paintings resembles fresco, while the closely cropped, centered compositions evoke El Fayûm portraits of ancient Egypt. Beginning with a primary paint layer in warm terra cotta, subjects are rendered in a uniform sfumato that evokes a light tremor, imparting to the paintings the effect of movement.

This sense of vitality may stem from the viewer’s own associations with photographed figures in motion, but it transcends even the veracity of photographs. Kami does not aim to create photorealistic portrayals; rather, he seeks to evoke the presence of spirit.

In recent large-scale portraits, Kami emphasizes the process behind the paintings, taking mysterious liberties in his representation of individual features, as in the arresting Man with Violet Eyes (2013–14). In Daya (2014), a male subject in profile, he recreates a vivid memory of their first encounter. A thin strip of the earthy primary paint layer is visible at the bottom edge of the canvas, a glimpse behind the otherwise even surface of indeterminate skin textures and hair tones.

Depictions of hands joined in supplication, a common action spanning faiths, directly indicate Kami’s enduring concerns. White Dome paintings similarly convey a sense of universal spirituality in the form of a central white light that spills over countless rows of tiny white rectangles like mosaic, hand-painted or stamped onto the canvas.

A single Black Dome alludes to the flipside of such enlightenment: Kami cites as examples the nigredo phase of metal decomposition during alchemical processes, and the spiritual crisis known in Catholicism as the “dark night of the soul.”

His paintings possess a distinct sense of fluidity—between the various faiths and texts that constitute his philosophical influences; between representation and abstraction; and, most unexpectedly, between painted portrayals and life energies.

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Photos and Information courtesy of Gagosian Gallery Website

Bonham’s Holds New Auction Featuring Iranian Art

Bonham’s auction house announced 20 new Iranian artists to be added to their collection starting April 20th, 2015.

The new announced auction titled A Century of Iraqi Art and Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art featured works by artists from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, and Tunisia.

Some of the highlights of the auction included celebrated artist Sohrab Sephehri whose two works were  sold at the staggering price of $119,000 and $128,000, greatly surpassing their estimates which were between $52,000 to $74,000.

Another prominent highlight of the auction was the artwork named “Alef” by Iranian artist Farhad Moshiri which was offered with an estimated price of $74,000 to $100,000. Moshiri also surpassed his estimate and sold for a whooping $128,781.

The highest priced lot however went to Iraqi artist Shakir Hassan Al Said whose work titled “Cubist Cockerel” sold for $289,571.

To get the full list of works sold along with their final prices, you can visit the Bonham’s website.

Iranian Art Rocks Christie’s Auction in Dubai

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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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.

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Shirin Neshat Film at BNLMTL 2014

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: