BRAZIL X IRAN
Colors & Forms
Curated by Roya Khadjavi and Flavia Tamoyo
February 2nd to Februay15th
Opening Reception
Thursday, February 2nd 5 pm - 8 pm
Gallery Hours: 12 pm to 6 pm , Closed on Sundays
Place: High Line Nine Gallery 4 507 West 27th St, New York , NY 10001
I moved to NYC almost 30 years ago. Collected friends for life. People from all over the world with different cultures and backgrounds. I absolutely love and get along well with my dear Iranian friends whom I always thought are just like us Brazilians! We have the same “joie de vivre” to say the least. Our similarities are just so many. First of all, physically we look alike. Yes. We do. Our society and culture are very similar. Brazilians and Iranians are the most hospitable people on the planet. We cherish our friends and families and make our guests feel at home. In addition, we both love art and our countries artists. The worlds of art from our homelands are like treasures to us. Music, poetry, the visual arts, jewelry, tapestry, street art, anything creative and original with forms and colors. Brazil and Iran have had so many influences from abroad and are both made of various cultures, dialects, and ethnicities. This cultural diversity has impacted the art world in both countries with amazing variety and style and produced masters in every field.
I met Roya through a common dear friend, a long time ago in New York or St Tropez, I can’t exactly remember. At the time we both had different professional engagements but years later our commitment to visual arts from our countries brought us together to showcase an amazing group of young artists with an incredible variety of techniques and genres. That is how Brazil X Iran: Colors and Forms was curated.
Flavia Tamoyo
Brazilian Art is a unique combination of Ingenious and contemporary creativities and shas seen a gradual transformation from native culture to fine arts. Similarly, Iran’s recent art history is filled with artists seeking to create a visual language that is native yet modern. Despite their political and economic challenges, both countries can arguably be considered two of the most prolific and progressive countries when it comes to art. Today’s contemporary art scene in Iran and Brazil is shifting as their new generation of artists are working to put their own stamp on the pages of their country’s history. These works offer a fresh introduction to both countries exciting yet underrepresented and underrecognized artworld. As both countries try to develop a more universal discourse to create a more important place for themselves in the global art scene, they don’t want to lose their firm groundings in their rich heritage, culture, and visual language.
Iranian and Brazilian contemporary artist have gone through much social and political crisis, which prompted them to express their nonconformity through their art and their pieces became more provocative, opiniated and political. Although thought provoking and conceptual, Brazilian, and Iranian contemporary artists generally don’t follow international trends and have created their own artistic identity and for that they have gained notoriety and the attention of the West. Brazil and Iran have a long history of mixing with influences from the outside. Iran, despite numerous invasions by foreign powers throughout its history, has a deeply rooted ancient culture and has been able to maintain her rich heritage and identity which affects her art to this day. In addition, the forced religion by the Arab invaders, thousands of years of monarchy and a vast land as varied as can be in nature, climate, and ethnicity have added to her rich visual diversity and her artistic language. Similarly, Brazil’s various ethnicity groups, a large Indigenous population, a strong native culture, the Portuguese invasion which resulted in 600 hundred years of colonialism and Western culture have also created a rich history abundant in diversity and color from which her contemporary artists can’t escape.
Even though Brazil and Iran are over 7600 miles apart with no direct connections in any form, they have both benefitted from a rich heritage, tumultuous history, and a diverse population. Brazil X Iran: Colors and Forms, reintroduces the often-overlooked dimensions of people, culture, and artistic vibrancy of Brazil and Iran.
Roya Khadjavi
For Sales and Press Please Contact:
Roya Khadjavi: roya.khadjavi@gmail.com
Flavia Tamoyo: ftamoyo@gmail.com