Iranian art does well in the UAE – especially in Dubai where exhibitions of contemporary Iranian art can be found in a number of galleries including several located in the Al Quoz industrial area close to Sheikh Zayed Road. The work of some artists, such as the calligraphic paintings of Mohammad Ehsai and the sculptures of Parviz Tanavoli, commanded significant sums at Christie’s Auction in Dubai in the spring 2008 auction. (1)

Some of the interest in Iranian art may be attributed to the large number of Iranians living and working in Dubai in particular.  According to information collected by Alma Kadragic for her article on Iranians in the Emirates, the number in the country may be as high as 500,000.(2) Some, like architect Darius Zandi, have come and stayed to open their own businesses.(3)   Others, such as Suny Rahbar, part owner of The Third Line Gallery, have translated their art background and training into successful businesses showcasing regional, particularly Iranian, artists.  Since the opening of The Third Line Gallery in 2005 with the work of Iranian artist Rokni Haeri (4),  followed by that of Golnaz Fathi in 2005 (5)  and her 2006 (6)  homage to the late Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani (Fig. 1, Fig.2), many other exhibitions of Iranian art have been held at this gallery.  Frequently, work is sold before it is even hung.(7)  


Rana Javadi, like contemporary Iranian photographer Maryam Zandi well known for her Portraits of key Iranian figures in literature and art, began her career as a photojournalist and then had it interrupted by the Iran/Iraq war.  But photography was never far from her heart and she continued to work with this medium in different ways, including shooting film, establishing the first museum of photography in Tehran, and developing a photography journal.  Once Upon a Time, or as it is in Farsi, Yeki Bud, Yeki Nabud, and with which every old Iranian tale begins, is constructed from the artifacts that produce memories. Javadi states that she “want[s] to see through this prism so that my memories break away and live on in a new context even when I am gone.” (10)  (Fig. 5)

Fig. 5 Rana Javadi, Once Upon A Time, Photograph, 50cmx70cm, Color photographic paper, 2005

Shadi Ghadirian’s photographs entitled Colors were also included in the same exhibition. These are quite unlike Ghadirian’s previous work as there is a diffused quality about them. (Fig. 6)

Fig. 6 Shadi Ghadirian, Colors, Photograph, 100x70cm, Color photographic paper, 2005

Farhad Moshiri’s series of realistically rendered images of pottery, some with proverbs or other writings, and some without, (Fig. 7, Fig. 8, Fig. 9) were shown at The Third Line Gallery, Dubai, in 2005. Although this was the first year of its operation the schedule of quality Iranian work was fast paced and well attended.  Moshiri, whose work ranges from this series to some that are quite playful in tone, (Fig. 10, Fig. 11) is represented in many major international collections.

Fig. 7 Farhad Moshiri, Whenever You See A Lover Think of Me, Acrylic and oil on canvas, 2005

Fig. 8 Farhad Moshiri, Large Gold Bowl on White, Acrylic and oil on canvas, 194x266cm, 2005

Fig. 9 Farshad Moshiri, 6LS, oil and gold leaf on canvas, 164x151 cm, 2005

Another very popular artist is Iranian American Amir H. Fallah who lives in the U.S. and has exhibited widely there as well as in Dubai and more recently in Doha.  His work is playful, like that of Moshiri, but it reflects a different aesthetic (Fig. 12, Fig. 13) (11).  As this particular series is derived from interviews with male friends about “adolescence and building tree houses,” they fall outside the experience of most in this Gulf region.  Nevertheless, he represents a new generation of contemporary Iranian artists whose experience reflected in their artistic production transcends the boundary of time and place.

Fig. 12 Amir H. Fall, She Liked It But I Was Hoping For More, Mixed media  on canvas 91x119 cm, 2007

Fig. 13 Amir H. Fallah, Venice Beach The First and Last Kiss, Mixed media on canvas, 91x119 cm, 2007

Is indeed true that only a small body of water separates Iran from the Emirates and other places in the Gulf.  Alma Kadragic observes
And one of the areas they have been engaged in is the business of art and artifact. Iranian art does well in Dubai, and in other places in the Gulf region.  Many of the galleries in Dubai, while not specifically representing Iranian artists, are nonetheless beginning to include them.  Iranian art is a visible and vibrant part of the contemporary art scene.

Dr. Sharon LaVon Parker is currently a faculty member in the Department of Art and Design, at Kuwait University College for Women, Kuwait where she teaches courses in art and architectural history and contemporary art theory.  In January 2009 she will return to teaching in the Department of Art and Design at Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. Her interest in contemporary Iranian women artists and their artwork developed during the years she spent living in Iran, and her training in art history, theory, and painting.  She has presented numerous papers about contemporary Iranian and Emirati women artists at conferences in the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Great Britain, and written many exhibition catalogue essays on their works.  Dr. Parker is currently working on a manuscript about a selection of contemporary Iranian women artists and their works.  She is the recipient of the Best Theses Award (April 2006) from the Iranian Studies Group - Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Sharif University of Technology Alumni Association.

(2)Kadragic, A. (2006). Land of Opportunity. CNN Traveller, 6/06, 88-92. URL: www.cnntraveller.com


(4)Rokni exhibition, March 11 – March 18, 2005, TTL Gallery, Dubai

(5) un/written exhibition, June 30 – July 15, 2005, TTL Gallery, Dubai. See more of Fathi’s work on ArteEast Virtual Gallery web site http://www.arteeast.org/pages/artists/golnaz-fathi/
 
(6) Golnaz Fathi exhibition, September 21 – October 19, 2006. TTL Gallery, Dubai
 
(7) Many of Fathi’s work for the Qabbani show had been sold when I arrived at the gallery to interview the artist before the opening. 

(8) Kadragic , A. (2006).

(9) Recollection: Works by Monir Farmanfarmaian 27 October -15 November 2007. TTL Gallery, Dubai
 
(10) “Q & A with Rana Javadi” in Beyond Black: An Exhibition of Photographs by Five Iranian Artists. TTL, 2005.
 
(11) Amir H. Fallah, TTL, 24 September – 25 October 2008.

(12)Kadragic , A. (2006)