Contemporary Istanbul hosts Iranian and Armenian artists

With its mission to become a fair with a regional agenda, Contemporary Istanbul focuses on the art of neighboring countries. Last year it began to do this within the framework of a program entitled New Horizons. The first country to be featured under this appellation was Syria. The selection of artists reflected the diverse trends in Syrian contemporary art with the latter two, Ahmad Moualla and Sara Shamma, standing out as internationally recognized artists.

This year the focus is on Iranian art. Exhibited in five different booths, the selection again will illustrate the richness and diversity of the works of these renowned artists. Parallel to its emerging cinematographic successes in the last few years, Iranian artists working with a vast array of media have begun to attract the attention of global art lovers. A case in point is that of the five booths in the fair featuring Iranian art – three are from the U.K. and Germany. Beginning with the widely acclaimed Shirin Neshat, the artists featured in the fair are Afsoon, Ali Adjalli, Jamshid Bayrami, Simeen Farhat, Mahmoud Kalar, Ali Rahbar, Mehdi Saeedi, Zolaykha Sherzad, Maliheh Afnan, Ayman Baalbaki, Fathi Hassan and Susan Hefuna. Viewing the resulting kaleidoscope of the works of these artists will certainly be an awesome experience for all art lovers.

Looking at this lively art from Iran, a country that is host to one of the oldest civilizations in the world, one cannot but ponder the recent history of this country and how art has flourished in that context. It is a fact beyond doubt that during the reign of the late shah an elite, even if of a limited size, began to collect artwork of world masters as well. This trend of collecting was further spurred by the establishment of a state collection of world modern art under the guidance of the empress.

Today Iranian art is flourishing both in the country as well as in the post-revolution diaspora. What is remarkable in these works is the subtleness of how the artists come to terms with the various dichotomies of style and content such as those related to contextualism and traditionalism versus the new and universal.

Another country that the fair will turn its attention to this year is Armenia, a country so close yet so far away. Once again art will become a conduit for rapprochement. The works of contemporary artists such as Armen Gevorgyan, Karen Aghamyan, Tigran Kirakosyan and Feliks Eghiazaryan will be featured in a booth specifically allocated for these artists.

The surprises in this year’s edition are not limited to these remarkable sections; don’t miss the other novelties.

The fair starts Nov. 25 at the Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Center (Lütfi Kırdar) Rumeli Hall.

via OPINION: Contemporary Istanbul hosts Iranian and Armenian artists – Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review.