Iran is a country with a rich history of painters, artists and calligraphers. Unfortunately, the Iranian art scene receives little attention today – but not because of a lack of contemporary Iranian artists! In fact, the situation is quite the opposite: there are Iranian artists active in almost all categories of art today, from contemporary and street art to classical Islamic art. To get an idea of its great variety and uniqueness, take a look at these three videos showing examples of Iran’s (rarely seen) art scene today.
1. A video on street art and murals
Did you know that many of Tehran’s walls are decorated with surreal art? Take a look at this short video to find out more about the famous muralist, Mehdi Ghadyanloo, and see plenty of samples of his work around the city.
2. A video about the first Iranian to enter the Guggenheim
Iranian-American artist Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian is the first Iranian artist to be featured in a solo exhibition at the New York art museum the Guggenheim. She combines sparkling American pop art with colorful classic Iranian patterns, and plays with geometry. Her exhibition “Infinite Possibility. Mirror Works and Drawings“ was featured for three months at the art museum this year.
3. A video on unique exhibitions at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts
In this video, we get to explore the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts’ summer exhibition, showcasing the sculptor and painter Mehrdad Sadri. Sadri is famous both oversees, in his current home country Austria, and in Iran, and his exhibition has been a huge success.
Do you know of any other cool Iranian artists? Let us know!
This piece was originally published on A Teaspoon of (لیمون) Zest.
