Janet Rady Fine Art Presents "Breakfast in Tehran~Contemporary Iranian Women"

Written by George Hemingway Tuesday, 07 June 2011 23:52

London.- Janet Rady Fine Arts are pleased to present "Breakfast in Tehran: Contemporary Iranian Women" on exhibit from June 13th through June 26th. Breakfast in Tehran will be a chance to see a selection of drawings, collage, photography, video and printmaking from a group of new and established Iranian artists living in Iran and exhibiting in London together for the first time. Artists featured include, Azadeh Akhlaghi, Navid Azimi, Majid Koorang Beheshti, Taha Heydari, Khosro Khosravi, Azadeh Madani, Saba Masoumian, Kourosh Salehi, Atefe Samaei and Rozita Sharafjahan.

"Breakfast in Tehran: Contemporary Iranian Women" considers the representation of women in contemporary Iranian art, and demonstrates how accepted images and interpretations of femininity are being subverted. Since the Islamic Revolution, images of turbaned mullahs, ayatollahs and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad present Iran as an extreme patriarchy whose narratives are shaped and written solely by religious men. We occasionally hear stories in the media of a few prominent Iranian women like lawyer Shirin Ebadi, writer Marjane Satrapi, or the artist Shirin Neshat, but of the millions of women who live in Iran we hear very little. What does this silence hide about the lives of this quietened mass of humanity? Everywhere in Iran women are active and visible, apparent and hidden. Perhaps they are walking or driving along the teeming city streets or quiet country lanes, looking out of the window of a high-rise apartment at the street below, or bargaining in a shop, or petitioning in the courts, or just sitting down to smoke a cigarette after breakfast in their homes.


Breakfast in Tehran presents work by male and female Iranian artists, each depicting the predicament of women in contemporary Iran. These depictions aim neither to play to the standard ‘western’ idea of them as totally oppressed, nor claim that they are more liberated than we realize. Instead the exhibition acknowledges their unique situation where centuries of strictly defined roles, combined with decades of the Islamic Republic operating on a globalised stage have resulted in a strangely paradoxical environment. Women are active in all levels of society and the traditional roles of ‘wife’ and ‘mother’ are only a part of the lives of many women. The Iranian feminist movement has been politically and socially engaged for some years, and visual artists are now bringing this activism into the cultural arena and changing and subverting the traditional representation of women in Iran.

Now in its fourth successful year, Janet Rady Fine Art represents a wide range of cutting edge Contemporary Arab and Iranian artists as well as International artists whose work references the Middle East. Based between London and the United Arab Emirates, Gallery Director and Curator, Janet Rady is a Specialist in Contemporary Art from the Middle East, with over twenty years’ experience of the International Art Market including Leading Auction Houses and Major Commercial Galleries. Janet Rady holds a Masters Degree in Islamic Art History from the University of Melbourne and a BA from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and acts as an Advisor to the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency in Brussels. Janet Rady Fine Art offers bespoke curatorial and consultancy services to Clients incorporating all aspects of Collection Management. Visit the gallery's website at ... http://www.janetradyfineart.com

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