Iran Inside Out

Bita Fayyazi, PlayGround Installation at Espace Louis Vuitton, Paris, 2007, copyright artist and B21 Gallery and Espace Louis Vuitton photo by Kamran Diba
Bita Fayyazi, PlayGround Installation at Espace Louis Vuitton, Paris, 2007, copyright artist and B21 Gallery and Espace Louis Vuitton; photo by Kamran Diba
Shirin Aliabdai and Farhad Moshiri, We Are All American, Operation Supermarket Series 2006 Ink Jet Print 100 x 75 cm copyright artists
Shirin Aliabdai and Farhad Moshiri, We Are All Americans,   Operation Supermarket Series, 2006 Ink Jet Print       100 x 75 cm; copyright artists

This week, NY’s Chelsea Art Museum launches its latest exhibit: Iran Inside Out: Influences of Homeland and Diaspora on the Artistic Language of 56 Contemporary Artists. Running through September 5th, the exhibit features 35 artists living and working in Iran (some exhibiting for the first time), and 21 others living in the Diaspora. The show’s goal? To challenge conventional perceptions of Iran and Iranian art.

The exhibit boasts 210 works of sculpture, painting, photography, video and installation. Curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, Iran Inside Out examines the means through which a generation of artists reconciles its cultural and geographical circumstances with the search for artistic expression.

Artists include Vahid Sharifian, Barbad Golshiri, Farideh Lashai and Jinoos Taghizadeh (working in Iran), as well as Shirin Neshat, Shahram Entekhabi, Mitra Tabrizian and Shoja Azari (outside).

The exhibit travels to Dubai’s Farjam Collection/Hafiz Foundation in March 2010.

All images courtesy of Chelsea Art Museum. For more information, check out http://chelseaartmuseum.org