Arario New York in collaboration with Galerie Hilger Vienna is pleased to present The Promise of Loss: A Contemporary Index of Iran, an exhibition curated by Shaheen Merali. An exhibition of works created by young Iranian artists, the show aims to provide a glimpse into the contemporary art world and culture of Iran, uniting both internationally established artists with new and emerging talents to engage in a multifarious challenge to conventional perceptions of the country through the works of over a dozen artists living in and out of Iran.

The exhibition has traveled to New York from BrotKunsthalle in Vienna where it was shown for the first time based on the extensive knowledge and research of the renowned curator Shaheen Merali. Speaking about the show, Merali explains:

“The exhibition is a consolidation of many dashed hopes, a desire to build a shrine as well as to plant trees in the campus condemned to destruction. The artists enable both a reading of the situation and encouragement to cross the distance where the bitterness of loss reigns within the national moral. The Promise of Loss is organized to mine the huge ground of Iran. The connection of expertise to experience, the rhythm of its measures and the constancy of the artistic gaze into its shadows has made listening to the artists’ renditions more urgent.”

Artists in the exhibition include: Samira Abbassy, Iman Afsarian, Asgar/Gabriel, Masoumeh Bakhtyari, Shahram Entekhabi, Parastou Forouhar, Shadi Ghadirian, Babak Golkar, Peyman Hooshmandzadeh, Abbas Kowsari, Mandana Moghaddam, Amin Nourani, Sara Rahbar, Neda Razavipour, Behrang Samadzadegan, Rozita Sharafjahan, and Jinoos Taghizadeh.

Artist’s Talk: January 16th, 3pm We are grateful to be joined by three participating artists as they discuss their practice in and out of the current political context in Iran. Samira Abbassy, Asgar/Gabriel, Babak Golkar will be accompanied by Layla Diba, Independent Curator of Islamic Art and moderated by Hrag Vartanian, art writer and editor of Hyperallergic.