With 15 well known contemporary visual artists in attendance, Assar Art Gallery opened its doors on October 27, 1999.
The founders of the gallery – architects: Hamid Agah and Anoushiravan Soltan Attar, asked Omid Tehrani to take on the management of the gallery and the critical role of selecting artists, and their works, for exhibition.
It’s important to note that during its early days, the gallery benefited from the hard work of its founders and their families. Mrs. Farzaneh Attar, Mr. Hamid Agah, Mr. Mostafa Tehrani and his wife Mrs. Noushin Tehrani were instrumental in helping shape the direction of the gallery.
It was dUuring our second group exhibition – featuring the works of the founders of Iranian contemporary art – that we became aware of our true goal.
The presence of these artists provided us with a new sense of purpose and a better understanding about the artistic process. Clearly, the creative element is the primary force behind any work of art; but a genuine ‘love for the arts’ is a unifying constant amongst all great artists. We became determined to harness this love in all of our future exhibitions.
Since that day the gallery has featured many exhibitions in the areas of visual arts; selecting artists and providing the appropriate arrangement and lighting for each work of art.
Today, after 5 years of operation, the gallery is under the management of “Tarh Naghsh Assar” corporation and resides at a location provided by Mrs. Keyhan (Alavi), one of the great patrons of the arts. We greatly appreciate her support. The current board of directors includes Anoushiravan Soltan Attar and Omid Tehrani and our great friend and co-worker Shahpari Behzadi.
If we had to name all the individuals who have helped us during these years, we would have to draw up a long list – and it would have to include every one of the artists that have helped adorn the walls of our gallery. Both the artist and the gallery need each other. The artist creates, and the gallery has the responsibility to present that art in the best possible way.
With the help of 35 professional artists, the Assar Art Gallery currently specializes in the visual arts (painting, photography and sculpture). Although we work in Iran, we have an outlook which encompasses the entire world of art and we welcome any new collaboration.
Assar Art Gallery – July 11, 2004 |
