“Iran Inside Out” exhibition in New York “Iran Inside Out” is the title of an exhibition at the Chelsea Art Museum running through 5 September, which features 56 contemporary Iranian artists, the majority of whom live and work in Iran - some exhibiting their work abroad for the first time – who have created works that challenge preconceived notions of Iran and Iranian art. Curated by Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, the exhibition presents over 200 works comprising painting, sculpture, photography, video and installation, which explore the process of deconstruction and reinvention of both the self and art, resulting from the influences of Homeland and Diaspora. The recurrent references to Iran the country or what it means to be Iranian, seems to be one element that stands out in the otherwise much varied and distinct works of each of these artists. Interestingly, as Till Fellrath observes in the catalogue, contrary to one’s expectations, the artists living abroad often draw more on their cultural heritage, while those on the inside focus more on issues of everyday life without much regard to what the outside views as specifically Iranian references. So, while the Iranian-American Ala Ebtekar, Shiva Ahmadi, Negar Ahkami incorporate overt references to Persian miniatures and “coffeehouse” painting, Vahid Sharifian, on the other hand, working in Iran, displays a set of wildlife self-portraits called “Queen of the Jungle (If I Had a Gun),” which could hardly be said to be carrying any particular message, or the paintings of sleepers by Ahmad Morshedloo and Reza Paydari’s portrait of school friends. Here is what Hanna Azemati, a tour guide for the Chelsea Art Museum, had to say about the aims of the exhibition. “The intention…was to sort of question some of the stereotypes about Iranian art, show something more refreshing than what is usually seen as Eastern art, and Iranian art in particular with worn out calligraphy, and veiled women, and miniature. And to show sort of a more contemporary view on Iranian art. And so, a lot of the artists that are exhibited are, take sort of, maybe some inspiration from traditional Iranian art, but with a more untraditional twist to it.” Highlighting the work of Vahid Sharifian, whose somewhat provocative and tongue-in-cheek work, makes one wonder how he ever exhibited it in Iran, Azemati said: “If you look at the photographs, they are really quite refreshing and surprising and the fact that they are by an Iranian artist who lives in Iran, they are very suggestive, very playful. You see him, portraits of him frolicking around with animals. Even for somebody from New York, who has seen a lot different things, like this is quite, I don’t know, almost makes me uncomfortable, or something like that. So I can’t imagine how he sort of did that in Iran. It’s a good example of, sort of, very untraditional art coming out of Iran.” Politics does not escape the exhibits as seen in three exquisitely hand-painted oil barrels by Shiva Ahmadi, an Iranian artist from Detroit, Michigan. Azemati said that Shiva was really interested in the effect of oil politics on Iran and the Middle East in general, and she incorporates issues surrounding the issue of oil as well the attention Iran has received over the post election turmoil. She said that Hamada’s first impulse was to decorate the barrels, “so she started to paint them in gold and black, and started to bejewel them with the stones, and so forth, as well as draw these traditional Islamic patterns on the oil barrels.” Azemati continued: “She tried to deform the oil barrels using saws, sort of create these bullet holes in them, and have images bleeding out of the oil barrels. You can see that there are horses that are without a head, so as to sort of show a lack of identity, and evidence of identity. And these horses are at war, and there is carnage. And so when you look carefully at these pieces, which at first sight are just absolutely stunningly beautiful, you start to see they are also very violent and tragic elements to it. So it’s really quite amazing how she has combined the two and created this duality, between what is so beautiful at first sight and so shocking once you look carefully.”