Assar Art Gallery at Paris Photo 2009

Carrousel du Louvre, Salle Soufflot, Booth D33
From Novermber 18th through the 22nd, Paris Photo, the world’s leading fair for photography will feature 102 exhibitors presenting a worldwide panorama of photographic expression from the 19th Century to the present day.  This year, 89 galleries from 23 countries will be exhibiting.  This year’s statement sections, focused on Arab and Iranian photography, is curated by Catherine David.  The project consists of three different components: a selection of portrait photographs from the collection of Arab Image Foundation in Beirut, eight galleries who will unveil the work of emerging artists from the region and a series of videos.  Among the eight galleries selected is first time exhibitor Assar Art Gallery.  Established in 1999, Assar presents established and young up-and-coming Iranian artists of various media.  The theme at this year’s fair is “Standing Inside, Looking In” and featured artists are internationally renowned artist Sadegh Tirafkan and newcomer Mohammad Ghazali.  Tirafkan’s works on display will span his last three series, “The Loss of Our Identity,” “Whispers from the East,” and “Multitude.”  Throughout his career, Tirafkan’s focus has been mostly on his culture, identity and gender.  Ghazali will exhibit for the first time his “Where the Heads of the Renowned Rest.”  This series of photographs is a look at Tehran from the point of view of public statues installed in various points of the city.  Other artists being presented this year are Samira Alikhanzadeh, Mehrdad Afsari, Dadbeh Basir, Shahriar Tavakoli, Houra Yaghoubi, Nima Alizadeh, Saba Alizadeh, Meysam Mohammai Mahfouz and Mahboube Karamli.