Calligraffiti: Iranian Artists’ Work on View in New York
A mix of Iranian artists (living in Iran and abroad) including: Farideh Lashai, Shirazeh Houshiary, Reza Mafi, Farhad Moshiri, Shirin Neshat, Faramarz Pilaram, Leila Pazooki, Behjat Sadr, Hadie Shafie, Esrafil Shirchi, Parviz Tanavoli, Hossein Zenderoudi will have their work(s) on display at “Calligraffiti 1984/2013“, in New York at the Leila Heller Gallery.
Originally curated in 1984 by Jeffrey Deitch (Director, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles) at Leila Heller’s former uptown gallery, Calligraffiti 1984/2013, explored a myriad of possible connections shared between the seemingly disparate styles of select mid-century abstract, U.S. graffiti, and calligraphic artists from the Middle East and its diaspora.
Currently on view until October 5th, 2013, at her gallery, Leila Heller believes: “This show makes connections between pivotal artistic movements across cultures that have informed each other’s creative processes. Just as the graffiti movement emerged from the economic and social turmoil of the 1970s in New York, it is now no surprise that some of the most groundbreaking street art is burgeoning all across the Middle East. Calligraphy as an art form is part of a Middle Eastern collective memory and as it continues to evolve, we are now witnessing a kinetic dialogue between these movements that will no doubt leave their mark on history.”