Guns and Roses ’ - Samira Gallerysamiraalikhanzadeh.com/.../files/20101013050148_GunsandRoses.pdf · press release Eleven Howland is pleased to present ’Guns and Roses’, a group

' Guns and Roses 'Contemporary Iranian Art

with Shahriar Ahmadi - Farhad Ahrarnia - Samira Alikhanzadeh - Pooya Aryanpour -Reza Derakshani - Alireza Dayani - Golnaz Fathi - Khosrow Hassanzadeh -Reza Lavassani - Farhad Moshiri - Afshin Pirhashemi and Ghass Rouzkhosh

22 May – 15 August 2009 - Preview Thursday 21 May, 6.00 to 9.00pm

press releaseEleven Howland is pleased to present 'Guns and Roses', a group exhibition of Iranian contemporary art displaying the worksof twelve of the country's most prominent artists, many of whom are living and working in Iran, at the forefront of one of the mostvibrant artistic communities in the Middle East today.

On the thirtieth anniversary of the Iranian revolution, we pause to reflect on the crucial themes that have underpinned Iran's contemporaryvisual culture. Guns and Roses loom large - two dominant cultural pillars that have shaped and informed Iran's artistic landscape.A symbol of conflict and creativity, violence and ideology, the Gun embodies the spirit of militarism rife in a region scarred bya decade that saw bloody revolution followed by a ferocious war with Iraq. Alongside this is the subject of the famous Sufi poetSa'adi's "Golestan" - the delicate Rose, whose sublime beauty forever inspires wisdom and grace within Iranian culture.

These themes are earnestly reflected in the works on show. Artists such as Khosrow Hassanzadeh pay tribute to heroic wrestlers, or"Pahlavans", whilst simultaneously playing with the Iranian consumerist demand for sentimentalist souvenirs. Reza Derakhshani andPooya Aryanpour reflect the past prominence of floral and calligraphic traditions within contemporary Iranian painting, traditionsgreatly esteemed for their unmatched lyricism and elegance. In contrast to this, the works of Farhad Ahrarnia and Farhad Moshiri addresstheir country's frequently conflicted relationship to the rest of the world.

Caught between the grace of Iranian visual culture and the disturbances of conflict are the Iranian people themselves, and their plightis retold with great flare and visual power by figurative artists such as Samira Alikhanzadeh and Afshin Pirhashemi. Pirhashemi in particularcaptures the duality of Iranian society, set in stark black and white hues; his subject stands in defiance of social expectations, a lonewoman with her mane of hair flowing behind in the style of western fashion publications.

The selection at hand therefore aims to earnestly reflect the ideas and social currents at play in what is perhaps one of the most dynamicvisual cultures currently emerging in the international art scene.

'Guns and Roses' will feature works from Shahriar Ahmadi, Farhad Ahrarnia, Samira Alikanzadeh, Pooya Aryanpour, Alireza Dayani,Reza Derakshani, Golnaz Fathi, Khosrow Hassanzadeh, Reza Lavassani, Farhad Moshiri, Afshin Pirhashemi and Ghass Rouzkhosh.

For more information please contact [email protected] call +44 (0)207 636 5069

Installation view of gallery entranceFrom right to left: Farhad Ahrarnia, "US Soldier I" - Ghass Rouzkhosh, "Hectic Tranquility IV" and "Hectic Tranquility II"

Installation view from gallery entranceFrom left to right: Golnaz Fathi, "Untitled" and "Untitled" - Alireza Dayani, "Untitled" - Pooya Aryanpour - Ghass Rouzkosh, "Hectic Tranquility II"and "Hectic Tranquility IV"

Installation view of main gallery spaceFrom left to right: Pooya Aryanpour, "Untitled", "Untitled" and "Untitled" (diptych) - Samira Alikhanzadeh, "Untitled" -Khosrow Hassanzadeh, "Untitled (from Ya Ali Maladi Series)"

Installation view of main gallery spaceFrom left to righ and top to bottom: Khosrow Hassanzadeh, "Untitled" (from Ya Ali Maladi Series)" - Samira Alikhanzadeh, "Untitled" -Shahriar Ahmadi, "Till Grapes Rurn into Wine" and "Fugitively" - Farhad Ahrarnia, "Between the Lines" - Samira Alikhanzadeh, "Untitled"

Installation view of main gallery spaceFrom left to righ and top to bottom: Samira Alikhanzadeh, "Untitled" - Shahriar Ahmadi, "Till Grapes Rurn into Wine" and "Fugitively" -Farhad Ahrarnia, "Between the Lines" - Samira Alikhanzadeh, "Untitled"

Installation view of main gallery spaceFrom left to right: Farhad Moshiri, "Three Candles" - Pooya Aryanpour, "Untitled", "Untitled" and "Untitled" (diptych),

Installation view of main gallery spaceFrom left to right: Alireza Dayani, "Untitled" - Farhad Moshiri, "Three Candles" - Pooya Aryanpour, "Untitled", "Untitled" and "Untitled" (diptych),

Installation view of gallery entranceFrom left to right: Farhad Ahrarnia, "US Soldier I" - Afshin Pirhashemi, "Untitled" - Golnaz Fathi, "Untitled" and "Untitled" - Alireza Dayani, "Untitled"