Visual Dialogues | The Book of Kings | Shirin Neshat & Fereydoun Ave | March 2019
Secret of Words
Mehran Mohajer & Sadegh Tirafkan
November 2006
​
Total Arts Gallery at the Courtyard and Massoud Nader Present exhibition of Photography by Sadegh Tirafkan with support of Silk Road Gallery this exhibition is accompanied by photographs of Mehran Mohajer Sadegh Tirafkan is a persevering artist who navigates through time and culture in search of his place and identity as an Iranian man in the contemporary world. The medium of photography has become his main platform to construct powerful visual plays, using a combination of elements that he seasons sufficiently with symbolism.
The significance of symbolism throughout Tirafkan’s body of work comes from his Persian root in which direct dialogue is rarely used, but frequently replaced by symbolic languages. How do you inform a culture that has three thousand years of history, rich in tradition and essentially a homogenous and male dominated society? Tirafkan expresses his concerns through images of numerous self-portraits and portraits of friends. He once said, "I began photography by recording what surrounded me. Now I take what is around me in the studio and make it into what I see through the prism of my life and culture." Tirafkan poses himself and others in the studio time after time to explore the meaning of being a contemporary Iranian. Blending tradition, history and memory, he recreates visually compelling scenes that build visceral connection to his ancient country. And this is where the strength and beauty of Tirafkan's work lie.
In reinventing and revisiting Iranian tradition he is also criticizing and challenging his ancestors' long-standing authority. In spite the highly eloquent appearances; I see two hidden trends in his work, which the artist has perhaps introduced even without realizing it: a theatrical staging of all the historic drama of his country, all the painful events of which he experienced intensely, and a discreet journey towards a spirituality which emanates from his whole vision. Here, Tirafkan surreptitiously rejoins the mystical quest which remains, whether we like it or not, the key-stone of any metaphysical edifice of the Iranian world. Born in Iran in 1965, Tirafkan trained as a photographer at the University of Fine Arts in Tehran. Since the late 1990’s he has participated in numerous solo exhibitions and group shows, in Tehran, Paris and New York.
Tirafkan’s work offers an eloquent meditation on modern Iranian man’s relationship to his past and on his search for a meaningful identity in the present. Identity, history and memory have been central concerns in the work of non-western artists since the era of colonialism. Tirafkan, frequently using himself as a model, revisits and reinvents these themes in his series of enigmatic yet visually compelling photographs. He uses words and symbols to communicate with the audience and
Abstract & Lanscape
Mohseni Kermanshahi
February 2005
​
A. Mohseni was born in 1960, in Kermanshah west of Iran. He started painting with Master Rahim Navesi before moving to Tehran. He held his first one-man show in 1994 and has come a long way from his humble beginnings. Landscape, traditional life and nature were always his main subjects to paint and after moving to UAE he found this passion in the local scenery. T
his exhibition would be an exceptional one in Mohseni’s career since he is entering a new period after 10 years of professionally painting landscapes and still life witch is still the close to Mohseni’s heart in a different way. Mohseni has participated in more than 40 solo and group exhibitions in Iran including Tehran Contemporary Art Museum, Australia, Kuwait and the UAE. Mohseni has won a special award from Tehran Contemporary Art Museum as the best Artist of the year in 1996. Mohseni has published 2 books, which are: 1. Nature in the painting of Abdol Hossein Mohseni 2. Painting of Abdol Hossein Mohsenis He is working on two new books at present.
​
​Visual Dialogues
Behjat Sadr & Nazgol Ansarinia
November 2015
​
Visual Dialogues at Total Arts at the Courtyard - The Inbetween Space, is the first in a new series of exhibitions. Juxtaposing different artistic generations and aesthetics, The Inbetween Space encompasses what the series is all about: neither commercial nor completely institutional. Its place is not in a museum, commercial gallery or university classrooms but in an the Inbetween Space.
The first of these Dialogues will be between Behjat Sadr (1924-2009) and Nazgol Ansarinia (b.1979). The late Sadr was a pioneer within the Iranian art scene, and her subtle approach to three-dimensional and kinetic work, alongside her multimedia collages, were innovative and groundbreaking. A new surge of interest in her rich and varied artistic practice is in part due to the admirable publication Traces, alongside Mitra Farahani's documentary Behjat Sadr: Time Suspended. Many of the works in this mini retrospective are being exhibited for the first time, allowing viewers an unprecedented chance to become familiar with the works of one of Iran's most innovative artists.
Two generations later, Ansarinia is also a pioneer, continuing Sadr's legacy with a 21st century aesthetic. The Inbetween Space presents examples of her various periods of research, presenting a survey of the award-winning artist's minimalist approach into three-dimensionality and her meticulous attention to detail and craftsmanship. Her work has become known for its ability to transform and use space as well as its subtle aesthetic.
It is through the works of these two artists, separated by time, yet working very much in tandem that we are taken on a journey from one century and one dimension into the next.
The idea of dialogue by means of works and not words is the essence of this series of exhibition. Finally it is always the work that has to do the talking and the spectator as to do the detective work and fill in the subtext.
Behjat Sadr (b 1924 - Aug. 11, 2009) was an Iranian painter whose works have been exhibited in major cities across the world, such as New York, Paris, and Rome. Sadr began her studies at the University of Tehran faculty of fine arts. After her graduation, she won a scholarship to the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome at the Naples Academy of Fine Arts. Sadr's first major exhibition was at the twenty-eighth Venice Biennial in 1956. In 1957, Sadr returned to the University of Tehran as a member of faculty. She died of a heart attack on August 11, 2009. Behjat Sadr was the first female contemporary painter to be considered on the same level as her male colleagues in Iran.
Nazgol Ansarnia, Born in 1979 in Tehran, Nazgol Ansarinia trained in design in London before completing an MFA at the California College of the Arts (CCA) in San Francisco in 2003 before returning to her native Iran.
Ansarinia's practice is inspired by rhythms, routines and systems, which are interwoven and concealed in our daily activities. Working in a variety of media; her subjects determine the medium she chooses. Her works are included in many international collections and publications and has won prestigious awards among them Abraaj Capital Art Prize in March 2009.
Mitra Farahani is an internationally acclaimed Iranian filmmaker and painter, lives in Paris. Born in Tehran in Iran in 1975, she graduated in graphic design from Azad University in Tehran in 1997 and then immigrated to Paris where she worked in performance and fine art. She studied at ENSAD in Paris from 2000. Her first documentary short film JUSTE UNE FEMME won the Teddy Award at the 2002 Berlinale. TABOUS – ZOHRE & MANOUCHEHR (2004) and FIFI HOWLS FROM HAPPINESS (2013), two feature documentaries, were each premiered in the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival. In 2007, her documentary BEHJAT SADR: SUSPENDED TIME portrayed one of the pioneers of Abstract Expressionist painting in Iran.
​
