Exploring Iranian Art in 2021-22 through Darz's Mirror 

Original text in Farsi by Darz

Translated to English by Sara Faezypour

Introduction 

The Persian year 1400 (2021-22) came to an end with all the closures, postponements, and bizarre transformations it brought about in our individual and social lives. The Iranian visual art scene was also not safe from the stream of these events, being affected by it in diverse ways; however, this year, due to more measured planning, taking advantage of the experiences of the last two years, and of course, widespread vaccination, the process of dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic was better proceeded with fewer art events forced to be postponed or canceled. Galleries, museums, shows, art fairs, biennials, and auctions were able to resume their in-person and physical programs and the Iranian visual art experienced dynamic and lively days. 

However, one of the benefits of the pandemic was the development of creative ideas or alternative solutions to keeping the art scene as vibrant as possible, as well as preventing the marginalization of art in the period of restricted collective activities. Galleries, art fairs, auctions, and independent artists became more aware of the possibilities of the online world, attempting to broaden their activities in this environment or organize online events along with face-to-face programs, inviting the audience to visit the events as much as possible. In the past year, the "Darz" platform sought to closely observe and follow the Iranian visual art scene, managing to cover a significant part of the activities of the artists, shows, art fairs, auctions, and biennials around the globe and evaluate the affairs of today's art world. Wishing the best for the ones involved in Iranian visual art, we will review a selection of the most monumental events in the realm of art this year: 

Shows 

In 2021-22, numerous group, individual, and online shows were held in galleries and museums around the world where Iranian artists were present. The "Darz Platform" covered 1223 of these shows, of which, 646 were organized in Tehran and 192 in other cities. Naturally, centralism is still evident in the Iranian visual art sphere. According to the aforementioned statistics, the number of exhibitions featured in Tehran was more than 344% higher than in other cities. However, by putting on periodical shows of artists from various cities and provinces in Tehran, some galleries, such as the EV Art Gallery, tried in a way to confront this centralism. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic and the difficult conditions of having displays in person, this statistic is engrossing, indicating a tremendous growth compared to last year. In 2020, Darz reported 836 shows, 160 of which were dedicated to those outside Iran. November had the highest number of covered shows with a whole amount of 122 domestic and international shows, and April was at the bottom of this list with 33 shows. 

With five solo shows and a total of 16 group and solo shows, Amir H. Fallah had the largest number of displays this year. In addition, three solo shows, featuring Ardeshir Mohassas' works were held at Sahar Boluki Gallery (Canada), Artibition Gallery, and Nian Gallery. 

A sum of 838 domestic shows, reviewed by Darz Platform in 2021-22, were held in 15 different cities. Having organized 29 shows, Aknoon Gallery in Isfahan was the "most active gallery outside Tehran" this year. Among the most influential events of 2021-22, three solo shows held in the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art can be mentioned. This year, after reopening, the museum hosted Shahryar Hatami's show, "The Concealed over the Revealed". Additionally, a show of Andy Warhol's selected works was put on there, which is critical in its own terms. We should further refer to the show, "Mehdi Sahabi: A Retrospective", an esteemed artist and translator, in which works from different periods of his career in various media and collections were showcased side by side, having not been presented in this form and range before. 

Amongst the remarkable domestic shows in the past year, we should note the "Review of Mohsen Vaziri Moghaddam's Works" show at Argo Factory, presenting the valuable and - in some cases – rarely viewed works of this great artist next to each other as well as reviving his name and memory. This year, Ali Nassir, was another acclaimed artist who showcased his artworks in two simultaneous shows at O Gallery and 009821 Projects. The name of Manouchehr Motabar stands out from the rest of the distinguished artists who held a show of their works this year. He exhibited his works at Azad Art Gallery. 

This year Parallel Circuit also welcomed various artists, holding two exceptional shows of two young yet well-known artists, which were quite well-received in their own way: Mamali Shafahi's solo installation show, titled "Judgment Night: Daddy Kills People" and Hoda Kashiha's show, "In Appreciation of Blinking". Other newsworthy events include Mahshid Noushiravani's photography show, titled "Look at Us" and Mina Nouri's show, titled "So Were They" at Emkan Gallery, focusing on the works of artists from the previous generation. Both exhibitions concentrated on pieces created around 1978 but were not made public for years. Moreover, Farshid Maleki's solo show, "Wall", at Azad Art Gallery, and "Changiz Shahvagh: Three Decades of Works" show at Plus 2 were other notable events this year. 

In addition to all the events, we should touch on the newly established galleries this year with the city of Kashan taking the lead in this field; House of Lucie, Maryam Art Gallery, and Fiuz Gallery are among the new-founded galleries of the city. 

Another vital aspect worth noting is the simultaneous shows of artists in two separate events. For example, Ali Nassir exhibited his works in O Gallery and 009821 projects, Pantea Rahmani in Etemad Gallery and Lajevardi Foundation, and Bijan Akhgar in Emkan Gallery and the former location of Ab Anbar Gallery. 

The number of displays featuring Iranian artists abroad demonstrates, on the one hand, the appreciation of Iranian art in the international arena and the attention of global galleries and museums to it, and on the other hand, reveals how the domestic artists and galleries have a greater focus on the international arena and overseas activities. 

Amid the distinct shows held abroad this year, what is worth discussing is that of  Manoucher Yektai's artworks at Karma (New York), which is considered the most consequential solo show of the artist in the last decade in the world.  

Tala Madani, a young artist, who has gained popularity in the international arena, making quite a splash, had a big solo show at Pilar Corrias as well. 

Sotheby's Auction House, organized a show of Mohsen Vaziri Moghaddam's artworks, paying homage to his status and years of artistic activity, which greatly contributed to commemorating and introducing this famous artist. Furthermore, the works of Abbas Kiarostami, the celebrated Iranian artist, were showcased at the Centre Georges Pompidou. 

Among the other prominent events of the past year was the display of Hadi Fallahpisheh and Raha Raissnia's artworks at the Greater New York, MoMA PS1 Exhibition, promoting the two artists on the world stage. 

Arghavan Khosravi was one of the prolific artists of the year. Her solo show "Truth Be Told" was highly acclaimed at König Galerie Berlin. Shirin Neshat, who presented her "Land of Dreams" at several major exhibitions in various cities and galleries around the world, the most historic of which is the Goodman Gallery in New York, had her last solo show at Moca Toronto this year. Asal Peirovi's solo show, "Slippery Road's Landscape" organized at Standard Gallery in Oslo was also one of this year's major events, drawing a lot of attention. Avish Khebrezadeh, as well, held two shows this year at the National Gallery of Art and Cromwell Place. 

Nairy Baghramian was another leading Iranian artist, who had several important shows in galleries such as Marian Goodman and Vienna Secession and was chosen as the selected artist by the Nasher Prize, winning its award. Amid the simultaneous shows of an artist in two different galleries abroad, we can point out the presentation of Tala Madani in two branches of Pilar Corrias, the show of Hadi Falahpisheh in the two branches of Rodeo Gallery, and Kour Pour's display in the two galleries of Shrine and Sargents Daughters. Also, in March 2022, Mehdi Qadyanloo's exhibition was opened in the renowned and first-rate Gagosian Gallery, which is truly phenomenal. 

Art Fairs 

Art fairs are one of the most key events in the world of art today, playing a primary role in the international arena in the past year. In 2021-22, the Darz Platform covered 112 art fairs from around the world. 21 Iranian galleries participated in these events and a total of 169 galleries from all over the globe exhibited the works of 165 Iranian artists. Examining these statistics and comparing the numbers as opposed to last year reveals an increase in the attendance of Iranian artists in international art fairs. 

Last year, the means to adapt to the pandemic were not provided; therefore, many art fairs were finally forced to cancel their in-person events after several postponements while the necessary arrangements for holding the programs online had not been made. Thus, the number of art fairs declined substantially. In general, however, the strong presence of Iranian galleries and artists in this year's art fairs cannot be overlooked. This indicates that Iranian artists have become more attentive to international events, having a great desire to appear in the world arena. 

Among the Iranian galleries, Dastan had the most presence in the world art fairs, participating in the Armory Show, Art Dubai, Artssima, Frieze Los Angeles, Asia Now, Fiac, Art 021, Liste Showtime, Liste 2021, Frieze New York, and Bon-gah Art Book Fair in 2021-22. This year, Iranian artists marked the most attendance at the art fairs of Asia Now, Volta Basel, Art Dubai,  Abu Dhabi Art, Contemporary Istanbul, and Artissima. 

Appearing at eight art fairs, Hoda Kashiha, the productive Iranian artist of these international events, was introduced as one of the emerging stars of Frieze Los Angeles 2022 with her paintings sparked interest around the world. Kashiha was also present at Fiac 2021, Art Dubai, Art 021, Asia Now, Frieze New York, Art Antwerp, and Menart (represented by Nathalie Obadia Gallery in both). Moreover, Farrokh Mahdavi was another active Iranian artist in the field of art fairs, and by participating in five art fairs, Fiac, Art Dubai, Art 021, Frieze Los Angeles, and Frieze New York, he was recognized by the international art scene. 

Saradipur Gallery, one of the most active galleries in this year's art fairs, took part in six art fairs: Abu Dhabi, Asia Now, Armory Show, KIAF, Volta, and JINGART. Displaying the works of Moslem Khezri, this gallery obtained the New York 2021 Armory Show Booth Prize. 

According to the Artsy website, Kavi Gupta Gallery emerged as one of the top ten Armory booths by showcasing the works of artists such as Kour Pour. Paintings by Meghdad Lorpour, which were represented by Dastan's Basement at the Armory, caught a lot of attention and were introduced as one of the outstanding works of this paramount event. Additionally, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian's show of her works represented by James Cohan Gallery in New York at Frieze Los Angeles 2021 is one of the far-reaching events of this year. 

Shirin Neshat attracted a lot of notice this year, exhibiting the "Land of Dreams" project in a solo booth at the Photo London public program. In recognition of her decades of artistic activity, she won the Photo London 2020 – 2021 Master of Photography Award.  

Bon-gah Art Book Fair was one of this year's serious internal events, holding its fourth edition on a larger scale at Ava Center. Other noteworthy points about art fairs in the past year were the appearance of Bavan Gallery at Volta Basel and Inja Gallery at Artissima, both of which experienced their first physical attendance at an international art fair. Asia Now hosted the works of the largest number of Iranian artists, introducing and presenting Iranian art in various sections such as "Tehran Now", the "Iranian Platform" as well as the exclusive show of Farideh Lashai's works from the Lashai Foundation. Different galleries from Iran presented photographic artworks at art fairs, the Silk Road Art Gallery was the only Iranian one that focused entirely on the medium of photography when participating in Paris Photo. In addition, amid the meaningful events of this year, we can refer to the establishment of the Eye of the Collector art fair by Nazy Vassegh, an Iranian entrepreneur, art advisor, and cultural strategist. 

Auctions 

In 2021-22, the Darz Platform covered 287 international auction events held by 132 auction houses across all branches. Comparing these numbers with the 177 auction events that had taken place last year indicates considerable growth. These events were held both online and in person, signifying that the auction houses have arrived at a solution to deal with the recession caused by the pandemic, organizing their programs in various ways. 

This year, auction houses including, EJ's with 27 events (in most of which the works of Ardeshir Mohassess were presented), Sotheby's with 25 events, Phillips with 9 events, and Christie's with 7 events make the top list of the auction of Iranian artworks in Darz Platform. In the auction events, this year, 936 works of art belonging to 348 Iranian artists were covered by Darz, of which 592 cases were sold. At the top of the foreign auction's list are Veno Auction's event on December 13, 2021, with 74 works, Milon's event on January 16, 2021, with 51 works, and Bonhams Online event on February 22, 2022, with 33 works. 

The auctions held during 2021-22 graced some Iranian artists more than the others with their works being outstandingly sold in various auction houses, among whom Ardeshir Mohassess is at the top of this list with a record of 96 works, followed by Shirin Neshat with almost half of the amount, meaning 45 works. 

Charles Hossein Zenderoudi and Nasser Ovissi jointly occupy the next rank of this list with 27 works. Manoucher Yektai with 23 works and Sadegh Tabrizi with 19 works have taken the next places. Examining this case alone shows that the harbinger and reputable Iranian artists have been noticed by auction houses more than emerging or contemporary artists. 

Considering the presence of famous artists, it might be interesting to observe the continuation of this list; Parviz Tanavoli, Nasser Assar, and Jafar Rouhbakhsh with 14 works, Reza Derakhshani, and Marcos Grigorian with 13 works, Tala Madani and Mohammad Ehsai with 12 works, Bahman Dadkhah, Farhad Moshiri, and Mohsen Vaziri Moghaddam with 11 works, Shadi Ghadirian, and Abbas Kiarostami with 10 works, Fatemeh Eyvazi, and Faramarz Pilaram with 9 works, Michael Shahbazian, Bahman Mohassess, and Abbas Gharib with 8 works, Sirak Melkonian, Samira Alikhanzadeh, and Manouchehr Niazi with 7 works, Navid Nuur, Monir Farmanfarmaian, Mohammadali Taraghijah, Kambiz Derambakhsh, Jazeh Tabatabai, and Ghasem Hajizadeh with 6 works, Yeravand Nahapetian, Wahed Khakdan, Shahram Karimi, Ghodratollah Agheli, Sadegh Tirafkan, Parviz Kalantari, Mohammad Hamidi, Mohammad Fassounaki, Hossein Mahjoubi, Hossein Kazemi, Ahmad Morshedloo, Ali Golestaneh, and Behjat Sadr are present with 5 works. Investigating the reason why some eminent and popular Iranian artists have received relatively less recognition this year, for example, Behjat Sadr's presence in only 5 or Bahman Mohassas in 8 auction events, can be quite crucial. 

Amidst all modern and contemporary Iranian works sold at international events in 2021-22, a work by Bahman Mohassas reached the highest figure and was sold at the Sotheby's London event on March 25, 2021, at a premium price of £1,007,200. But the most expensive Iranian work that was sold at an auction event this year was a piece by Abdollah Khan Naghash Bashi, which belongs to the late Qajar era, making it unique. This work was sold at the Christie's London event on April 1, 2021, for a premium price of £2,302,500. 

Tehran Auction is another momentous event that should be noted in the field of trading Iranian works. 120 works of Iranian artists were auctioned in August and 80 works in January at the Tehran Auction. Amongst the works of art that have been sold in Tomans this year, Parviz Tanavoli's "Seated Poet" is at the top of the chart, being sold at the Tehran Auction for 14.6 billion Tomans, and the next place is reserved for "Shiraz" by Monir Farmanfarmaian, which was sold at the Tehran Auction at the price of 13 billion tomans. These two works set the record for the most expensive works of all time at the Tehran Auction. 

Furthermore, we can speak of the worthwhile lots of well-known artists that were sold at auctions this year with a final price higher than the highest estimated value. At the top of this list is Manoucher Yektai's piece, sold at Cottone Auctions for 690% higher than its assessment, at the price of $27,600. Yektai also holds the next rank on this chart with his work being sold at the Cornette de Saint-Cyr in Paris, 563% higher than the maximum price calculation, at the final figure of €84,500. The next rank belongs to the brilliant piece by Bahman Mohassas, sold at Sotheby's London for £277,200, which is 462 times higher than its initial estimate. 

Side Events 

This year, a permanent work of Orkideh Torabi, titled "Atrium Project" was exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA) for one year, which was intriguing in its own way. The work "Black Rain" by Arghvan Khosravi was purchased by the Rose Art Museum and is now kept in its permanent collection. In addition, the "School of Fish" mural by Iman Raad in Queens, New York was completed and put on display. 

This year, along with specific activities that were held in the form of shows, art fairs, biennials, and auctions, great side events took place in the Iranian visual art scene; including the publication of books related to artists, such as the books "Shirin Neshat in a Long Conversation with Mohammad Abdi" (Bidgol Publishing), "Ghobad Shiva, Through Sayings and Writings" (Lajevardi Foundation), "Mohammad Siyah-Qalam: One Artist, Three Identities", written by Yaghoub Azhand (‌Baygani Publication), "New Age: Gholamhossein Nami's Memoirs" (Nazar Publication), "In Search of Independence, on the Independent Artist Group" (Nazar Publication); the book "Nicky Nodjoumi: a Piece of a Portrait" (Nazar Publication) can be named. Also, this year, two influential books by Iranian artists were published by foreign publishers; "Tehran Monoxide" by Negar Farajiani and "Outsider" by Morteza Zahedi at Yale University. 

In the end, we should acknowledge great and famous artists who passed away in 2021-22: Iran Darroudi, Kambiz Darmbakhsh, Ali Golestaneh, Hossein Valamanesh, and Kaveh Najmabadi. Their great names and memory will remain permanently in the Iranian visual art scene. 

Slider images information: 

1. Soft Edge of the Blade | Group show | Dastan Outside Projects |  London | Source: Dastan Gallery  

2. Mohsen Vaziri Moghaddam's solo show | Unrealised Projects | Argo Factory | Tehran 

3. Ali Nassir's solo show | Paintings and Drawings 2017-19 | O Gallery | Tehran  

4. Bijan Akhgar's solo show | Shab Abad |  Emkan Gallery at Ab Anbar's space | Tehran 

5. Mirrored Reflections | Group show | Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art | Tehran   

6. Hoda Kashiha's solo show | In Appreciation of Blinking | Parallel Circuit | Tehran | Source: Dastan Gallery | Photographer: Matin Jameie  

7. Taher Pourheidari's solo show | Tal-vaar Vol 2 | Homa Gallery | Tehran 

8. Ali Alemzadeh Ansari's solo show | Plastic Tape Measure, Fruits, Oil and Canvas in Centimetres | Delgosha Gallery | Tehran | Source: Delgosha Gallery  

9. Bon-gah Art Book fair 2021 | Bavan Gallery and A Gallery's stand | Ava Platt | Tehran  

10. Mehdi Sahabi's solo show | Mehdi Sahabi; A Retrospective | Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art | Tehran  

11. Morteza Pourhosseini's solo show | In-between | Plus 2 | Tehran 

12. Arghavan Khosravi's solo show | Truth Be Told | König Galerie | Berlin | Source: König Galerie  

13. Saghar Pezeshkian's solo show | Absent/Presence| Inja Gallery | Tehran | Source: Inja Gallery   

14. Nairy Baghramian's solo show | Misfits | Milan Modern Art Gallery | Milan  

15. Hadi Fallahpisheh's solo show | Young and Clueless | Rodeo Gallery Piraeus | Piraeus | Greece 

16. Shirin Neshat's solo show | Living in One Land, Dreaming in Another | Pinakothek of the Modern | Munich | Source: pinakothek.de