To Be Seen Without Being Defined

At Galerie Ernst Hilger, Vienna, Mneme (2026) rests beneath the tree. Unclothed, reclining. Her front legs support her upper body as her torso stretches across an Indian silk carpet depicting cypress, the Tree of Life. Her head is raised, slightly angled. The carpet’s threads weave from her body into her fibrous hands, where a bowl of water rests as an offering.

Noushin Redjaian, tree of life, view of the exhibition at Galerie Ernst Hilger, Vienna, 2026. Photo by Katharina Schiffl. Courtesy Contemporary Lynx.

by Klara Bender, Contemporary Lynx

Her reclining pose recalls Narcissus, whose absorption in his own reflection separates him from the world beyond it. Between self-recognition and self-enclosure, Mneme inhabits a similarly ambiguous position, though her relationship with the water opens onto another possibility. Rather than remaining caught in reflection, she speaks to the water, offering it a story that will reach the tree and nourish its blossoms. The words on the wall extend this invitation: “Would you like to lie down with me for a moment? With me, beneath the tree. I have lips, and I have a tongue. I tell the water a story, and the tree will drink it, little by little, for its blossom buds” — an excerpt from Tree of Life, a poem written by the Vienna-based artist Noushin Redjaian. 

In her practice, she brilliantly choreographs a dance of reciprocity — between bodies, generations, worlds and materials. From reference to making, her work reveals a profound depth of thought and sensitivity. Her background in fashion, design, printmaking, and transmedia art informs a practice that moves fluidly between material, image and space. 

Textiles That Remember

In Tree of Life water becomes a medium of exchange. The tree, in turn, becomes a confidant, a place where secrets can be held and transformed into something that sustains life. Mneme’s encounter marks a shift from fear to sharing, learning and discovering her place in the world. She recognises herself as an individual while carrying the knowledge of earlier generations. Inheritance does not determine her path; it gives her something from which to begin.

Artistic research – new pathways to new knowledge?

A conversation with Shabnam Shirzadi

Interview by Hester van Hasselt, Academy of Theatre and Dance

Research at the Academy of Theatre and Dance – we know it’s happening, but what does it actually involve? In this interview (part 31 in a series) ATD take a peek behind the scenes, in conversation with Iranian artist, researcher and educator Shabnam Shirzadi, who teaches Performance Analysis at the School for New Dance Development. In 2025–2026, she was awarded the ATD Teacher-Researcher Exploration: the counter-perspectives fellowship.

A State of Bewilderment | Poetry as a way of knowing

I noticed in my classes that analytical approaches move very quickly towards interpretation and clarity, and that students are rewarded for arriving there fast. They wanted to write a good analysis that followed the rules and demonstrated their insight. I could feel how limiting this was, how certain aspects of the work and the experience of it were being excluded. They were getting ‘lost in analysis’, so to speak. There was something overly deliberated about it all.

I grew up in Iran, where poetry suffuses everyday life – I grew up in poetry there, it’s all around you. And it isn’t restricted to artistic or intellectual circles; it goes right across the population, woven into ordinary speech: we use lines of poetry in everyday conversation, and many of them live in our memory.

2 Charleston galleries are featuring Iranian artists isolated from the international art world

"Black Trace 3" by Sadegh Khalife. Courtesy The Post and Courier

by Chelsea Grinstead, The Post and Courier

Two Charleston galleries are teaming up to spotlight contemporary artists in Iran whose work rarely reaches international audiences.

“Voices from the Middle East,” presented by The George Gallery and Peter Anthony Fine Art in partnership with California nonprofit Parisa Projects, will bring paintings, sculpture and mixed-media pieces to both galleries for viewing Oct. 2-30.

An opening reception will take place simultaneously at both galleries from 5-7 p.m. Oct. 2. The abstract works in “Voices from the Middle East” will be shown at The George Gallery located at 54 Broad St., and the representational works can be viewed at Peter Anthony Fine Art located nearby at 15 Broad St.

The exhibition explores the personal experiences, resilience and creativity of 15 artists working amid political conflict, economic uncertainty and limited access to the global art world.

With the U.S. currently at war with Iran, this show underlines the universal need artists have to produce meaningful work and interpret what's going on around them, said Anne Siegfried, who owns George Gallery and Peter Anthony Fine Art Gallery.