‘Refreshing … a richly illustrated book … well worth buying’ – Art World

Iran is currently experiencing an astonishing artistic revival in the most challenging of circumstances. 'Different Sames' catalogues this new movement, capturing its brilliance and creative energy.

Iranian artists – inside or outside the country – are creating remarkable works that reflect their country’s social and political environment, while incorporating their own personal worldviews and those of their adopted homelands. These works form a new and exciting movement that can only gain in importance in the coming years.

Packed with wonderful images, this is an important and lively collection of thought-provoking essays, historical context and profiles of the leading artists, whether well-established (such as Parviz Tanavoli and Monir Farmanfarmaian), internationally recognized (such as Shirin Neshat, Y. Z. Kami or Mitra Tabrizian), or emerging (such as Ali Banisadr or Tala Madani).

Exclusive interviews with the key artists, collectors and curators offer fascinating insights, and allow the book to explore the relationship between current international movements in art and the art produced both in Iran and by artists of the Persian Diaspora.

Art changes the way we look at the world, and Different Sames is an attempt to explain today’s Iranian art movement in this spirit.

About the authors:
Hossein Amirsadeghi is a writer, publisher, editor and filmmaker. He has written, edited or published several books on Iran and its culture. He is also the author of The Arabian Horse and Sky Hunters, both published by Thames & Hudson. Anthony Downey is the Programme Director of the MA course in Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London. Mark Irving is Associate Lecturer in visual culture and theory at Central St Martins College of Art & Design. He is currently writing a book on sacred relics. Hamid Keshmirshekan is a Visiting Associate at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford. He has completed his post-Doctoral research project on the art of post-Revolutionary Iran.

See our Events Page for the exhibition
'From Tehran to London: New Painting from Iran'

Also of interest

Islamic Art and Architecture
Art of Modern India
In Whose Name?: The Islamic World after 9/11
The Arabian Horse edited by Hossein Amirsadeghi