The work of 24 internationally recognized and emerging artists will be presented in New York this November in 1001 colors: Contemporary Art from Iran. Held in a temporary exhibition space on the Bowery from November 2 to November 22, 2009, the exhibition illuminates the development and breadth of contemporary Iranian art, a subject that has been explored with increasing frequency in museum and gallery exhibitions in Europe and the United States.
Pooya Aryanpour (Iranian, b. 1971), Untitled, acrylic on canvas, 2008
1001 colors documents and investigates some of the many forms of artistic expression now taking place in Iran. The 50 works of art reflect a variety of formal and social concerns in paintings that range stylistically from representational to expressionist and almost pure abstraction. Although the subjects of the representational works vary widely, they frequently address the interplay between traditional Iranian cultural heritage and contemporary expression. These tensions are seen in Freydoun Omidi’s minimalist reimagining of Persian calligraphy and the sinuous but carefully controlled line found in Mohammad Rahimi’s works, which are based on millennia-old cave paintings. Paintings by Rezvan Sadeghzadeh present women facing obstacles in a male-dominated society. Pouya Aryanpour’s “floating objects” – abstract and ominous – litter his canvases and suggest untethered, uncontrolled presences.
Several of the featured artists are exhibiting outside Iran for the first time. These artists include Sassan Gharedaghlou, Mohammad Rahimi, Arash Fesharaki, Saba Masoumian, who articulate the aspirations of artists in contemporary Iran and their relationship to their own culture and that of the broader world.
1001 colors: Contemporary Art from Iran is organized and curated by independent art consultant and designer Nina Seirafi.
1001 colors: Contemporary Art from Iran
Canvas New York Art, 193 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10002
November 2 – November 22, 2009
Tuesday – Sunday, 11am – 6pm
[email protected]
(646)382-7547
www.canvasnyart.com
