Jury 2010

Aydin Aghdashloo

A great contributor to Iran's cultural heritage on many fronts, Aydin Aghdashloo is a celebrated painter, author, art critic, art historian, and a graphic designer. He graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from Tehran University. Early influences by Renaissance and Sandro Botticelli's paintings led to the creation of his most famous series, Memories of Destruction. Later on, Islamic art became his main inspiration, and Memories of Destruction went through a transformation where Aydin combined Islamic and Renaissance paintings as his inspiration simultaneously. He also used Persian miniatures extensively in post-1979 paintings, the best examples of which are Crumpled Miniatures series. His works have been exhibited internationally at numerous venues, including the Barbican Art Center in London, Arta Gallery in Toronto and the Christies' auction in London and Dubai. Aghdashloo's contribution to promotion of Iranian art and culture include his extensive lectures in many countries around the world and his publications of eight books and many articles on painting and Iranian art history. He is also a world expert in Iranian pre-Islamic and Islamic art history and artifacts.

Hassan Sarbakhshian

Hassan Sarbakhshian, born in 1968 in the city of Tabriz, has worked for US Associated Press news agency (1999-2009) in Tehran, Iran. He moved to NY from Aug. 2009 as Iranian authorities refused to renew his press card after worked 10 years as a photographer for AP. In past 10 years he photographed all events in Iran and around his country such as three wars: Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), Afghanistan-US war in Nov 2002 and Iraq-US war in 2003. His photos has been published in New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, Time, Economist and many other international newspapers and magazines.

Shahriar Tavakoli

(born 1969 in Tehran)
BA and MA in Photography from Art University
Publisher & Editor in Chief of Art Quarterly Magazine
Herfeh: Honarmand (Profession: Artist)

Exhibition:
"Haft Samar" Gallery (1994, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2005)
Persion Vision Isfahan-Iran (2002)
Persion Silver Mineasota-US (2004)

Book:
If You Don't See Me (2005)

Yassaman Ameri

Yassaman Ameri is a photographer and multimedia artist. Her work has been exhibited at the Leighton House Museum in London, as well as Espace Electra in Paris, as part of the Regards Persans exhibition. Ameri grew up in Tehran and come to Canada after the Iranian revolution in 1979. Her work to date has focuses on the concepts of home and exile, as well as on the constructed nature of history