New York gallery spotlighting Persian, Arabic calligraphy

TEHRAN,Nov.10(MNA) -- A collection of contemporary Persian and Arabic calligraphy will be showcased in an exhibit at the Sundaram Tagore Gallery in New York today. Works by over ten prominent artists from Middle Eastern countries have been selected for the show, the gallery announced on its website. The exhibit, which has been entitled Written Images: Contemporary Calligraphy from the Middle East, explores the role of traditional Islamic calligraphy and symbols in the contemporary Middle Eastern consciousness. “Arabic calligraphy in all its aesthetic and linguistic complexity is little understood in the West and often regarded as an art form belonging to the classic Islamic arts and, therefore, to the past. In fact, it plays an important role in contemporary Arab and Iranian art. For centuries, the written word has been at the center of Islamic visual culture — a legacy that persists even today,” the gallery said. The calligraphy collection includes three works by Iranian artist Golnaz Fat’hi. Yousef Ahmad (Qatar), Lulwah Al-Homoud (Saudi Arabia), Khaled Al-Saa’i (Syria), Chaouki Chamoun (Lebanon), and Hakim Ghazali (Morocco) are among the artists whose works will be put on display at the exhibition. In addition, the collection also includes works by Ali Hassan (Qatar), Rachid Koraïchi (Algeria), Nja Mahdaoui (Tunisia), Hassan Massoudy (Iraq/France), Ahmed Mater (Saudia Arabia), Ahmad Moualla (Syria) and Ahmed Moustafa (Egypt). Established in 2000, the Sundaram Tagore Gallery is devoted to examining the exchange of ideas between Western and non-Western cultures. The Written Images exhibit will be running until December 3.