On April 10, Pakistan reported that over 60 artworks from prominent Iranian contemporary artists, featuring contributions from internationally acclaimed artist Reza Derakshani, were displayed at the Persian exhibit during the Art Russia fair in Moscow.
Artworks by Iranian artists were showcased throughout three booths, with one booth exclusively featuring Derakshani’s creations. His vibrant paintings, evocative of classic Persian rugs, merge ancient Iranian customs, historical legacies, and distinctive personal styles. In Iranian culture, horses hold great significance, a motif often depicted in the artist’s works. The exhibit featured three pieces from this collection: “They Hunt Turquoise,” “They Hunt Blue,” and “They Hunt the Pink.”
The exhibit showcased two extra displays featuring creations by various modern-day artists. An Iranian creator named Oria intricately stitched her personal narrative into her artwork using fabrics, threads, and components derived from conventional attire. It’s customary for these designs to be transferred from older dresses to newer ones. Her work incorporated tiny mirrors, which are commonly attached to clothing as ornamental features. According to Larisa Udovichenko, who curates the contemporary art fair, this was the inaugural presentation of the Persian segment at the show, attracting considerable attention.
This exhibit stands out as particularly appealing since not every visitor has extensive knowledge of contemporary Iranian art; thus, it offers a great chance for many guests to gain deeper insights into the nation’s cultural landscape,” she explained. A prominent trend within today’s artistic scene involves performances. Shah Abdullah Alamee from Pakistan engaged in an intriguing act where he inscribed lines from the poem “For the bloom of one branch is what we are” onto a golden canvas utilizing various paints.
“My performance blends conventional practices experimentally—incorporating components drawn from Indo-Pakistani music along with Persian vocal techniques and Islamic calligraphy. This amalgamation crafts a profound sensory encounter through both sight and sound, presented innovatively via custom-made tracks and embellished with gold leaf,” he shared during his interview with TV BRICS.
