Iranian Contemporary Art celebrates the artistic vibrancy of Iranian art of the last 40 years. Published on the occasion of the exhibition of the same name, this book provides a unique opportunity to appreciate the scope of developments in recent years, giving an accessible and intriguing account of contemporary Iranian art.

 Iranian Contemporary Art celebrates the artistic vibrancy of Iranian art of the last 40 years. Published on the occasion of the exhibition of the same name, this book provides a unique opportunity to appreciate the scope of developments in recent years, giving an accessible and intriguing account of contemporary Iranian art.Artists who live and work abroad are shown alongside those who are based in lran. Many of the works of art - both from before and after the revolution of 1979 and including a substantial group of paintings from Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art - are exhibited for the first time outside lran. A wider context is examined in the book, which illustrates the work of a greater number of artists.

 Representing significant trends of the Iranian art scene,Iranian Contemporary Art covers a wide range of styles,from calligraphic or abstract to figurative, and includes video, photography and installations, it takes as a starting point a moment in the early 196os when artists from lran, fully acquainted with western art, sought inspiration from their own rich cultural heritage to produce distinctive forms of modern art. More recent works by a younger generation are shown, amongst them pieces that explore a conflict between modernism and tradition, or take a light-hearted look at the paradoxes of contemporary life.

FOREWORD

by Carol Brown and John Hoole

AT THE CUTTING EDGE OF INTERSECTING WORLDS

by Daryush Shayegan

BORROWED WARE

by Rose Issa

ILLUSTRATIONS

BIOGRAPHIES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

LENDERS TO THE EXHIBITION

BARBICAN ARTS PARTNERS

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS

EDITORS" ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

INDEX