Iranian painter Behnaz Jalali, has displayed her latest solo collection ‘Tehran Passing the Imagination’ at Shirin Art Gallery.
The artist tries to focus on the contrast between tradition and modernity, through a combination of both in her collection, which includes 10 items. Oil paint and metal collages form window frames of canvas, through which a subjective view of the city is reflected, Honaronline reported.
Explaining the title of the series, Jalali said: “The paintings are focused on the contrast in the social fabric of the city’s urban life.”
She said Iranians of earlier generations mostly grew up in a traditional atmosphere. “They are subconsciously seeking traditional motifs in everything, including manteaus, carpets and decorative designs and items; however, when they step outside their homes, they enter a world completely different from what they imagine..
Elements of modernity have been added to traditional views, adding a colorful atmosphere “to remove the gloomy grey shadows of the city.”
Three ancient gateways in Tehran, namely Darvazeh Dowlat, Darvazeh Shemiran and Doshan Tapeh can be seen as symbols of the old city in her works symbolizing transition from tradition to modernity.
Tehran Milad Tower used frequently in the paintings, “show modernity”, instead of the much older Azadi Tower. On the bright colors used, she said: “I pictured the city as I wished it should be, full of vivid colors.”
In an introduction to the exhibition, the artist said: “I’m an Iranian with a half-modern, half-traditional mentality shadowed by numerous contradictions. Some of my clothes are decorated with Persian motifs and some with the world’s popular brands; my story is a story of contradictions.”
She says in her new collection, she has “entered a real, more modern world and has created a new vision of Tehran in her imagination; a colorful city with tall fancy and modern constructions next to the ancient textures. It a city where people are on the move along modernity.”
The exhibition will run through December 9 at the gallery, No. 5, 13th St., Sanaei Ave., Karimkhan Ave., Tehran.
