Tag Archives: iranian art

First International Gallery Exposition in Tehran

Posted on by Tara Gallery
25 Jun

The International Gallery Exposition, the first of its kind in Iran displaying works from 24 world galleries, began yesterday in Tehran’s Qasr Garden Museum.

Twenty four galleries from different countries are displaying about 300 valuable artworks at the exposition, the museum Managing Director Mohammadreza Saeidi said in a press conference on Tuesday.

A painting by Pablo Picasso, two works by Joan Miro, and two sculptures by Salvador Dali are seen among the items on show, he added.

The artworks have come from Spain, Peru, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Turkey and several other countries.

Several gallery owners, artists and art experts are also in Tehran aiming to be more in direct contact with Iranian artists. “They want to gain access to the source of Iranian artworks,” he said.

He added that no Iranian galleries are attending the program, however, works by several Iranian artists, including Jalal Shabahangi, Reza Kianian, Hamid Pazoki, Ahmad Vakili and Ali Shirazi can be seen on display.

“We did not plan to put works on sale, however if any individual would like to acquire any of the works, the selling prices are available,” he mentioned.

Picasso’s painting with 2.8 million dollars is the highest priced at the exhibit.

Saeidi also explained that over the past six months, foreign experts have visited the location of the museum, prepared films and photos for their gallery owners, and finally approved the location, which has been improved based on world standards.

Each gallery knew in advance the exact location in the museum where their works would be displayed, he added.

The exhibition will run until July 4, and has been organized by the Nasl-e Aftab Cultural and Sport Institute, an Iranian NGO, to raise funds for people suffering from rare diseases.

Mayjune Gallery from South Korea, Palma Arte Gallery from Italy, Petit Atelier from France, the National Gallery of Izmir from Turkey and Uniplastic Gallery from Switzerland are among the participating galleries.

The catalogue of the exhibit will be published in two volumes.

[Source: Tehran Times] [Image credit: Iran – International Gallery Exposition Facebook Event Page]

Behind the Scenes at Tehran Auction 2014

Posted on by Tara Gallery
03 Jun

As we wrote last week, Friday marked Iran’s 3rd Annual Tehran Auction at Hotel Parsian Azadi in Tehran. By every account a phenomenal success, the Tehran Auction sold out the entire collection at an average of 83% above the high estimates! The auction achieved a total of 5.1 million dollars – almost double the amount achieved at last year’s auction.

It is a testament to the strength and vivacity of Iran’s contemporary art scene that the auction results have grown in such exponential, record-breaking numbers. Sohrab Sepehri’s Untitled (from the Tree Trunk series) sold for $680,000 dollars, Reza Derakhshani’s The Hunting Blue Sky for $227,000 dollars, and Mohammad Ehsai’s Love for $219,000 dollars, setting national records. Young and emerging artists such as Dana Nedaran, Shahriar Ahmadi, and Babak Roshani-Nejad also did exceptionally well. You can view the full auction results here.

Our very own director, Homa Taraji, was fortunate enough to be in Iran at the time and worked to support the auction. Scroll through her photos below, showing us behind the scenes at Tehran Auction 2014:

Third Tehran Auction | 2014

Posted on by Tara Gallery
28 May

The third Tehran Auction will take place this Friday, May 30, at Tehran’s Hotel Parsian Azadi. The auction will feature works by the great established names of Iranian contemporary art, such as Parviz Tanavoli, Aydin Aghdashloo, Sohrab Sepehri, Mohammad Ehsai, Charles Hossein Zenderoudi, and Farideh Lashai, as well as emerging artists.

The lots will be available for viewing today and tomorrow, and the auction begins on Friday at 6 PM local (Tehran) time. There is a beautifully rendered digital catalogue accessible through their site, here.

The Tehran Auction is a privately developed initiative organized by former head of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Dr. Alireza Samiazar. It began as “an endeavour to fulfill the increasing interest in modern and contemporary Iranian art and to facilitate the acquisition of the best quality works of various genres. It also aims to support the domestic art market as a key basis for the international market.”

Our very own director, Homa Taraji is currently in Tehran, in support of the auction so hopefully we will have exciting information and images for you, soon!

Last year’s auction sold out the entire collection, generating 2.1 million dollars (65,450,000,000 Rials)! You can watch the auction live, here, to see what this year’s auction brings in.

Unedited History Iran | A Fresh View of Art and Visual Culture in Iran, 1960 – 2014

Posted on by Tara Gallery
14 May

Check out what looks to be a fabulous exhibition about contemporary Iranian art from the 60s until the present. Do we have major Paris envy right now? Mais oui, mes amis!

The Museum of Modern Art in Paris will host a group exhibition of works by some of the greatest Iranian contemporary artists. Entitled “Unedited History, Iran 1960-2014”, the exhibition kicks off on May 16, 2014.

The Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris is presenting UNEDITED HISTORY, Iran 1960-2014 at ARC. Comprising over 200 works for the most part never shown in France before, the exhibition brings a fresh eye to art and visual culture in Iran from the 1960s up to the present. Its survey of the contemporary history of the country is arranged in sequences; the years 1960–1970, the revolutionary era of 1979, the Iran-Iraq war (1980–1988) and the postwar period up until today.

Bringing together twenty artists from the years 1960–1970 and representatives of the new generation, the exhibition focuses on painting, photography and cinema, as well as key aspects of Iran’s modern visual culture: posters and documentary material ranging from the Shiraz-Persepolis Festival of the Arts to the revolutionary period and the Iran-Iraq war. Whether already historic figures (Bahman Mohassess, Behdjat Sadr, Kaveh Golestan, Bahman Jalali) or members of the contemporary scene (Barbad Golshiri, Arash Hanaei and others), all the artists base their work on a critical approach to form and media. Down the generations, they have played their part in a reassessment of the way the political and social history of their country has been written. The exhibition and its accompanying book invite us to broaden our perception of Iran and its modernity.

Director: Fabrice Hergott
Curator: Catherine David, Odile Burluraux, Morad Montazami, Narmine Sadeg, Vali Mahlouji – Archéologie de la Décennie Finale

ARTISTS ON SHOW
Morteza Avini (1947-1993), Mazdak Ayari (né en 1976), Kazem Chalipa (né en 1957), Mitra Farahani (née en 1975), Chohreh Feyzdjou (1955-1996), Jassem Ghazbanpour (né en 1963), Kaveh Golestan (1950-2003), Barbad Golshiri (né en 1982), Arash Hanaei (né en 1978), Behzad Jaez (né en 1975), Bahman Jalali (1944-2010), Rana Javadi (née en 1953), Khosrow Khorshidi (né en 1932), Bahman Kiarostami (né en 1978), Parviz Kimiavi (né en 1939), Ardeshir Mohassess (1938-2008), Bahman Mohassess (1931-2010), Morteza Momayez (1935-2005), Tahmineh Monzavi (née en 1988), Mohsen Rastani (né 1958), Narmine Sadeg (née en 1955), Behdjat Sadr (1924-2009), Kamran Shirdel (né en 1939), Kourosh Shishegaran (né en 1944), Behzad Shishegaran (né en 1952), Esmail Shishegaran (né en 1946).
Archaeology of the Final Decade presents Festival of Arts, Shiraz-Persepolis and Kaveh Golestan – Shahr-e No.

Published by Paris Musées, Unedited History, Iran 1960–2014 oscillates between past and present, combining details of the works with critical essays and historical documentary material and bringing a fresh perspective to local-global interaction in the Iranian art context. Among the authors: Vali Mahlouji, Bavand Behpour, Hamed Yousefi, Anoush Ganjipour, Catherine David and Morad Montazami. There will also be a selection of texts going in greater detail into the issues raised by the exhibition.
A program of encounters, talks and screenings will accompany the exhibition which will run until August 24, 2014 at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.

[Source: www.mam.paris.fr via Tavoos Online Magazine]

Tehran Graphic Design Week, 2014

Posted on by Tara Gallery
30 Apr

The Tehran Graphic Design Week opened at the Iranian Artists Forum on Sunday with a display of posters by a group of young artists in an exhibition entitled “Minus 30”.

Works by 168 graphic designers aged less than 30 and all coming from across Iran have been put on show at the exhibit, the forum reported in a press release on Sunday.

All the works on display have been selected by a jury panel including Qobad Shiva, Majid Abbasi, Alireza Mostafazadeh and Tahereh Mohebbi.

A solo exhibition displaying works by veteran graphic designer Abbas Saranj has also been set up, while an honoring program has been arranged on the sidelines of the exhibit.

In addition, a selection of works by German graphic designer Fons Matthias Hickmann (born 1966) has been put on display in an exhibition on the side section.

Hickmann is a professor of communication design at the Berlin University of the Arts. He founded “Fons Hickmann M23” studio which focuses on the design of complex communication systems.

The exhibit will be running for one week in the forum located on Musavi St., off Taleqani Ave.

The weeklong program has been organized by the Iranian Graphic Designers Society under the auspices of the International Council of Graphic Design Associations (Icograda) to celebrate April 27, which is World Graphic Design Day.

[Source: Tehran Times; Image source: Tehran Graphic Design Week Facebook]

Iranian Art Prospers – the Fadjr Festival of International Visual Arts

Posted on by Tara Gallery
27 Mar

The Fadjr International Festival of Visual Arts takes place every February, in Iran. Take a look at the video to hear highlights from the Festival and about the state of Iranian art and artists.

The art scene in Iran is dynamic and it has seen the rise of many renowned artists in recent times. One of the events that allows young and thriving artists to showcase their works alongside famous Iranian artists in the Fajr Visual Arts Festival. An art event that is picking up over the years with more and more exhibits going on display.

“Over 19,000 artworks from 6,100 artists from 51 countries entered the festival, from these we chose 990 works from 800 artists to go display and take part in the festival. This art event has achieved a significant turnout this year,” Abbas Mir-Hashemi
Secretary of Fajr Visual Arts Festival said.

The competition was in held in various fields of visual arts from photography to calligraphy and from sculptures to ceramics. As one art connoisseur put it categorizing modern art is itself difficult.

The Director of Tehran’s Museum of Contemporary Arts said, Majid Mulla-Nourouzi
“The visual arts were seeing here is from various fields which we usually see these works in separate expos but here there all together, this is of importance as in modem arts we have many artworks that are in between fields such as video arts and performances.”

Works from renowned artists took part in the non-competitive section of the festival, for the young and thriving the government is trying to help these artists become better known.

Ali Moradkhani, the Deputy for Arts at the Ministry of Culture said, “On part of the government we will try in the coming years to make exemplary works known to collectors and at the same time we will support many of the artists by getting many of these artworks for our collection, so in a way it’s the history of art of this country and at the same time its support artists.”

The judges we talked too mentioned the improving scene in their field of visual arts and the artists themselves were happy with the way the event was held this year.

Artist, Behzad Hajir, said “The difference in this year’s festival compared to before is that in the ceramics section which I took part there are no limitations and if you look at the works on display this is clearly shown.”

While the Fajr festival has come to an end these works of art will be on display in 21 provinces in Iran and in Tehran’s Museum of Contemporary arts during the Nowruz holidays as the country celebrates the Persian New Year.

[Source: Press TV]

Parviz Tanavoli Art Scuffle

Posted on by Tara Gallery
27 Mar
Wasn’t expecting to read this in the news today, but alas–there it was, this morning. Never a dull moment in the Iranian art world:
Sculptor Parviz Tanavoli has sued intruders who forced their way into his home in northern Tehran, taking a number of his works.
“Last night, about 20 people broke into my house using a crane and a truck, and, acting wildly and ineptly, took 11 of my sculptures,” he told the Persian service of ISNA on Monday.
“Nobody was at home when they arrived. People in neighboring houses said that they broke the locks to enter my house,” he added.
“When I arrived home, I asked about the reasons for their action. They said they were carrying out a court order. However they refused to show me their documents until they left,” he stated.
In an agreement signed between Tanavoli and the Tehran Municipality in 2003, he transferred the ownership of his 58 sculptures and his house in northern Tehran to the municipality on the condition that the house is converted into a museum for his works.
“Shortly afterwards, they informed me that their plan to establish the museum has been stopped and they no longer wanted to make a museum for my works,” Tanavoli stated.
“I filed a lawsuit and six years later the court ruled that the house was to be returned to me,” he added.
He said that over the past few years, the municipality has acquired all the sculptures, some of which allegedly have been sold.
“A few months ago, I went to court for a decision on the ownership of the artworks. The court ruled that the collection must remain in my house until the court makes a final decision, but the break-in occurred,” he said.
According Tanavoli, most of the artworks have been seriously damaged in transit.
So far, no official comment has been made about this issue and it is not clear where the sculptures have been taken.
Tanavoli, who usually makes large sculptures, is mostly known for his series “Heech” depicting the Persian word “heech” (nil). His “Heech in the Cage” is on display at the British Museum.
His works have been always warmly received at international auctions over the past few years.
His six foot tall sculpture “Oh Persepolis II”, was sold for $940,000 at Dubai Christie’s in October 2013.
His “The Wall” previously fetched $2.8 million at Christie’s in 2008.
[source: Tehran Times]
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