I swear, I’m not an abstract painter! They say that if the guilty repent, God will forgive them their sins and they will be redeemed. I admit my fault. Yes, I was an abstract painter, but I beg you, forgive my sins and accept my repentance. I will not think in an abstract way anymore. I swear to God that I will paint a flower like a flower. I will mix mud and fertilizers and throw them in your face, so that your lungs will open. You’re an animal who sniffs the feces of its fellow creatures and licks their buttocks in their cage. You only know your tiny dark world and do not feel any sensation, apart from the smell of your farts.» Behjat Sadr excerpt from an unsent letter in response to a personality from the Iranian art market, found in the artist’s diary, 1976

Curator: Daniele Balice, Cyrus Goberville