Some seasons: Fereydoun Ave and the Laal Collection, 1959-2019

Over the past five decades, artist, curator, designer and collector Fereydoun Ave (b. 1945) has assembled a singular collection of modern and contemporary Iranian art inflected by personal history, friendship, sensibility and circumstance.

A linchpin figure, Ave returned to Iran in 1970 after years of education abroad, organising groundbreaking exhibitions at the Iran-America Society’s Tehran cultural centre and the Zand Gallery, while also serving as resident designer at the avant-garde Theatre Workshop (Kargah-e Namayesh). He remained in Iran after the 1979 Revolution and went on to launch 13 Vanak, an irreverent independent arts space in the disused garden shed of an iconic Tehran square. 13 Vanak ran for over two decades, incubating and launching the careers of countless artists.

Ave, who is an accomplished artist himself, serves as both subject and cipher of this presentation, which brings together works by over 30 artists, a unique vantage onto the fascinating – and contested – cultural history of 20th and 21st century Iran.

Featuring more than 30 artists from his collection, this exhibition highlights five decades of modern and contemporary Iranian art, shaped by personal history, friendship, sensibility and circumstance.

Featured artists in Galleries 9 and 10 include: Shirin Aliabadi, Yaghoub Amaemehpich, Nazgol Ansarinia, Fereydoun Ave, Haydeh Ayazi, Ashurbanipal Babilla, Sadra Baniasadi, Leyly Matine-Daftary, Davood Emdadian, Parvaneh Etemadi, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Raana Farnoud, Shahab Fotouhi, Ali Golestaneh, Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh, Arash Hanaiae, Khosrow Hassanzadeh, Sirak Melkonian, Yashar Samimi Mofakham, Ardeshir Mohasses, Houman Mortazavi, Farhad Moshiri, Nikzad Nodjoumi, Iman Raad, Behjat Sadr, Bijan Saffari, Mostafa Sarabi, Mamali Shafahi, Reza Shafahi, Shideh Tami, Cy Twombly, Manouchehr Yektai, and Hossein-Ali Zabehi.

Curated by Negar Azimi and Sohrab Mohebbi, the exhibition debuted at the 58th Carnegie International; this expanded iteration is presented by Art Jameel in partnership with the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh.

To 24 March.