TEHRAN -- New York-based Iranian painter Sudi Sharafshahi is hanging a collection of her paintings under the title “War & Love” at Tehran’s Shirin Gallery.

A selection of 13 artworks is on show at the exhibit which opened on Friday September 24.
The works on display contain a narration of today’s stories along with traditional motifs used on Persian carpets in the background.
“I live in New York, but I want my works to reach Iran and stay with my fellow citizens. So I decided to reduce the price of the artworks,” she said in press release on Sunday.
“I have always sought God in my artistic endeavors, and that is why some of my paintings bear images of the Imams with their divine, shining faces. I also believe that an artist can revive old traditions if he or she chooses to use a new language,” she remarked.
She further noted that if an artist has something to say, he or she can narrate it with honesty, and this is certainly worth much more as compared to a copy of a famous painting.
Painter and sculptor Sharafshahi has been living in New York since 1974. She studied art at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Tehran and went on to continue her studies in the Netherlands on a scholarship.
She has participated in several group and solo exhibits in Iran and Europe to date.
The exhibit is running until October 7 at the gallery located at 145 North Salimi St., off Andarzgu Blvd. in the Farmanieh neighborhood.
Photo: A visitor takes a photo of a work by Sudeh Sharafshahi in her exhibition at the Shirin Gallery in Tehran on September 25, 2010