Aun Gallery is a

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

gallery in Iran's capital city

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

. It is owned and created by

Afarin Neyssari Afarin Neyssari is an Iranian-American architect and the founder and owner of Aun Gallery. Neyssari and her husband Karan Vafadari, both Zoroastrians, were imprisoned in Evin Prison in Iran for two years without bail or trial before being releas ...

. The building offers 120 square meters of open exhibition space, a five-meter high ceiling and a paneled roof.

History

The

Vanak Vanak () is a neighbourhood in the northern part of Tehran, capital of Iran and there is a square and a street named after it. The word Vanak means "Small (ash) Tree" in Persian. The name derives from the original older village of Vanak (''Deh-e ...

area has been popular with

Iranian art Persian art or Iranian art () has one of the richest art heritages in world history and has been strong in many media including architecture, painting, weaving, pottery, calligraphy, metalworking and sculpture. At different times, influences ...

ists since the early 2000s, at which time it was a quiet residential area with light industry.

Imprisonment of Owner

Aun's owner, Afarin Neyssari, and her husband Karan Vafadari were arrested in Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Intelligence Service (IRGIS) on 20 July 2016 when she was about to board a plane to travel to Italy in order to jump start an important art project, which was to prepare for Mr. Bizhan Bassiri's solo exhibition at the Venice Biennale festival as approved and certified by the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art and the Minister of Culture. Karan was supposed to join her a few days later on their trip, and to visit his three children who live in the US. Karan received a call from Afarin, and when he went to see her he too was arrested. Afarin and Karan were held in solitary confinement for over one month, and were not allowed to speak to a lawyer for 5 months. Afarin first spoke to a lawyer when she first showed up in court, 5 months after imprisonment. The Iranian judiciary has coerced the family to dismiss their chosen lawyer multiple times, and as of May 2017, they still have not found a suitable lawyer. As a Zoroastrian, Karan could be another example in a history of confiscation of Zoroastrians' property. Karan is a US citizen, and Afarin is a Greencard holder. A wave of public support for Karan and Afarin followed, from the artistic community within Iran, as well as from customers and friends of Aun Gallery. Robert Toscano, former ambassador from Italy to Iran, refuted the authorities’ justification for their detention i
an open letter
saying that “One has to be truly gullible and the easy victim of propaganda” to accept such charges. He continued, “The reason must be a different one…political blackmail toward the US (of which he isalso citizens), envy for their success, intimidation toward the Zoroastrian community, desire to grab their properties, ndrepression of contemporary art.”

Media

Aun Gallery has appeared in magazines and publications such as

Bidoun ''Bidoun'' is a non-profit organization focused on art and culture from the Middle East and its diasporas. Bidoun was founded as a print publication and magazine in 2004 by Lisa Farjam, eventually expanding to online publishing and curatorial p ...

, as well as other local and international publications. The gallery also featured in international travel magazine websites and online magazine '' The Culture Trip''.

International work

Aun's artists have exhibited globally.

Artists

Artists shown at the gallery include: * Amin Aghaei *

Darvish Fakhr Darvish Fakhr (born 1969) is an Iranian American artist born in Newfoundland. He is an artist in the field of Iranian portrait paintings. Biography Born in 1969, Fakhr grew up in the U.S. before moving to Britain where his practice has been b ...

* Golnar Adili * Mohammad Hossein Emad *

Nazgol Ansarinia Nazgol Ansarinia (born 1979; ) is an Iranian interdisciplinary visual artist. She is known for her mixed media sculpture and installation art. She lives in Tehran. Biography Ansarina was born in 1979 in Tehran, Pahlavi Iran (now Iran). She hold ...

* Parham Taghioff

References

External links

Foreign Residency Artist
on

Vimeo Vimeo ( ) is an American Online video platform, video hosting, sharing, and services provider founded in 2004 and headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices and operates on a ...

{{coord missing, Tehran Province 2009 establishments in Iran Art museums and galleries established in 2009 Contemporary art galleries in Iran Buildings and structures in Tehran Tourist attractions in Tehran Culture in Tehran