Modern Iran and the Avant-Gardes, 1948–78

Siah Armajani, Prayer for the Sun, 1962, oil on canvas, Grey Art Museum, New York University Art Collection For the first time in Canada, Modern Iran and the Avant-Gardes, 1948–78 explores how the complex cultural tensions of this period led to artistic innovation. As Iran became modern, modernism became distinctly Iranian. Iranian artists sought to create a unique form of modernism that addressed the tension between commitments to innovate and an engagement with traditional Iranian ideas, cultural forms and motifs. The challenge of forging a link between “heritage” and “progress” occurred…