London showcases works by more than 100 Iranian artists — The National

In London, United Kingdom, the Ab-Anbar gallery presented more than 300 works by over 100 artists, most of whom live in Iran. Some of the authors have left the country in recent years. The exhibition aims to show the activity of Iran’s art community amid war, sanctions and increased government pressure on dissent, The National reports.

Tehran gallery owner Orkideh Daroudi brought some of the works to London in a suitcase. Other works were first sent to Oman and then forwarded to the United Kingdom via DHL. The organisation of the exhibition was complicated by flight cancellations and delays.

Mountains above Tehran

One of the exhibition’s notable motifs was the mountains above Tehran. They appear in paintings and photographs as a constant presence over the city and a place of temporary respite from its dense pace. Photographer Shahrouz Mohammadi showed friends driving from the city to a snow-covered mountain range, while Karim Ghane depicted people in fields and abandoned industrial sites on the outskirts of Iranian cities.

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Serminaz Barseghian created a colourful image of the dormant volcano Damavand, in which the mountain appears active and engulfed in fire. Damavand is also present in a work by Mohamad Ghazali: the artist overlaid a translucent strip on a photograph, leaving the image of the mountain exposed.

Sales without commission

Ab-Anbar founder Salman Matinfar, who organised the project together with Orkideh Daroudi, said that the works combine sadness and optimism. According to him, war and sanctions isolate artists living in Iran from the global art scene.

The exhibits are priced from £200 to £3,000. The gallery will not take a commission, and proceeds from sales will go directly to artists and gallery owners in Tehran. Participants include Erfan Rouhina, Negin Sadaf, Mojdeh Souri, Farid Shams Yousefi, Tajesar Jafari and Mojtaba Vahedi. In particular, Yousefi created portraits on the reverse side of used cardboard packaging, while Vahedi presented embroidered compositions resembling Islamic illustrations.