TEHRAN -- “My Bird, Your Cage” from the collection of Iranian artist Farah Osuli is on display at an exhibition of Contemporary Islamic Art in America now underway at the Michael Berger Gallery in Pittsburgh.

“My Bird, Your Cage” series was created in 2008 and has not previously been showcased in Iran, Osuli told the Persian service of Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) on Saturday.
Entitled “Dis(Locating)Culture, Contemporary Islamic Art in America”, the exhibition features works by four other Iranian artists, Negar Ahkami, Shiva Ahmadi, Shoja Azari, and Amir Fallah, as well as one American and three Arab artists, she added.
According to Osuli, the organizers aimed to make use of art to fight against the Western media, which has long tried to distort the image of Islam.
As the organizers believe, the exhibition showcases some of the finest Islamic artists and aims to challenge notions of cultural and religious homogeneity.
Reem Alalusi, co-curator of the exhibit also believes that the exhibition is designed to build bridges of intercultural understanding via the universal language of art.
Osuli also regards works by Iranian artists as different from those by other artists at the exhibit. “Iranians have different views in their artworks. Arab countries might focus more on the appearance of the works, but they actually follow the art of Iran in content.”
The exhibition, which opened on April 15, will run until July 30.
Photo: “Imagination” by Farah Osuli is one of the Iranian paintings on display at the exhibition of Contemporary Islamic Art in America at the Michael Berger Gallery in Pittsburgh.