Shahpour Pouyan in the New York Times

Jason Farago, The New York Times, December 7, 2017

Jasan Farago reviews the 2017 edition of Art Basel Miami Beach highlighting Pouyan's Miniatures on rice paper.

 

"Pouyan has reproduced centuries-old Persian miniatures that depicted Muhammad and other religious figures — Central Asian artists, unlike their Arab counterparts, frequently portrayed the prophet in art — but has excised the figures to leave only gold arches, blue backdrops and flowing calligraphy. The erasure is at once a tribute to the less heralded constituent elements of Persian painting and fearsome metaphor for recent attacks on religious representation, from the museums of Baghdad to the newsroom of Charlie Hebdo."