Tally Beck Contemporary will present a group exhibition of contemporary works that incorporate calligraphy from Iran. Animating the Word: The Legacy of Iran’s Minority Calligraphic Traditions will open on Wednesday, December 10 and run until December 30.  The opening reception on December 10 will begin at 6:00 pm and run until 9:00 pm.

While Persian calligraphy and artwork is more familiar to most audiences, there are other rich traditions of calligraphy in the minority cultures of Iran.  These traditions have inspired a genre of contemporary art that incorporates the written languages and enriches the visual expression of these peoples.

For this exhibition, Tally Beck Contemporary will be exhibiting work by Ani Babaian (Armenian), Hannibal Alkhas (Assyrian), Solayman Sassoon (Jewish), Siamak Jamshidizadeh, Pooneh Oshidari, and Kourosh Vafadari (Zoroastrian).

Inspirational concept for this unique show of calligraphy from Iran comes from Richard N. Frye (1920–2014), the first holder of the Aga Khan Professorship in Iranian Studies at Harvard University.  Richard Frye, an enthusiastic language learner, enjoyed rendering short Persian poems in his elegant hand. He also had a deep appreciation of minority languages of Iran and the Middle East, including those represented in this show as well as others written in modified forms of the Arabic alphabet. This show is dedicated to his memory.

Tally Beck Contemporary is a New York-based gallery that focuses on Asian contemporary art. Founded in 2010, the gallery emphasizes fresh expression from Asia with regular exhibitions. Tally Beck Contemporary also maintains a strong presence at international art fairs, including Art Market San Francisco, Art Market Hamptons, LA Art Show, Miami Project, Texas Contemporary, and SCOPE Basel.