On May 17th a new exhibition opens at Tara Gallery, to learn more about this event we talked to Homa Taraji, Director of Tara Gallery.
Cinema Without Borders: Please tell us about Tara Gallery, its background and your involvement with it.
Homa Taraji: Tara gallery came to being 7 months ago under the sponsorship of the American foundation for contemporary Iranian art (AFCIA) which is a nonprofit, 501 c(3) organization for promotion of Iranian art. I am the cofounder and president of AFCIA and owner and director of Tara gallery. Most of the work presented in Tara gallery is by artists from Iran, especially those who live and work in Iran.
CWB: What exhibits have run Tara Gallery during the last year?
HT: To date, we have had 5 exhibitions at Tara Gallery, thus far: Trees of My Homeland; Words, Faces + Places; Dreams of An Oasis; Motion + Illumination; and Nature
in Abstraction. The upcoming Colors Remembered will mark our 6th exhibition since the gallery opened.
All the exhibitions have featured art by Iranian artists.
CWB: Are Tara Gallery audiences only Iranian/Americans or you have others also visiting your exhibitions?
HT: What’s wonderful about living in Los Angeles is that we are never short on diversity. While we mainly see Iranians and Americans, we also have visitors from all over the world.
CWB: Please tell us about May 17th Exhibit.
HT: Our upcoming exhibition is Colors Remembered and it features the work of three very talented Iranian female artists, each with a unique ability to capture the fine line between memory and imagination. It is truly an enchanting collection not to be missed.
CWB: Who are the artists participating in May 17th Exhibit?
HT: Mehri Dadgar, a former political prisoner in Iran, employs arabesque, calligraphy, and traditional miniature painting with a blend of Western influence to create modern abstractions.
Shahla Etedali is an artist, writer, and documentary filmmaker who most certainly has a way with words. Her love for the pliability of language, particularly her native Persian, has inspired her to create a unique and universal dialect on canvas.
Marjan Nirou Saniee is an artist who renders a new perspective to our colloquial surroundings by creating texture through carving and lifting layers of plywood. Vessels and fruits are no longer inanimate objects but a vehicle to ignite memory and nostalgia.
They each have a unique story, but told in bold colors and patterns, they resonate a common and enigmatic beauty.
CWB: Will the artists be available to speak to the visitors during the opening ceremony or later during the exhibition?
HT: Yes. We are lucky that these artists all live in the US at this time so they will be present here at the opening reception on Saturday. Later on during the exhibition, only one local artist, Shahla Etedali can be available. Mehri Dadgar lives in San Francisco and Marjan Nirou in New Jersey.
CWB: What are future plans of Tara Gallery?
HT: We like to continue our mission of promoting contemporary Iranian art in the US and support Iranian artists by showing their work and getting them the recognition they deserve.