“My work is largely based on geometry which, as you know, always begins with a single point and can move from there into a circle. Or a point can become three leading to a triangle, or four to a square, five to a pentagon, hexagon, octagon, and so on — it’s endless. I was inspired by the geometry I found in old mosques with their tile, metal, wood, and plaster work.”

– Monir Farmanfarmaian in conversation with Lauren Oneil Butler in: Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Art Forum, 2015.

His works often deal with issues that are considered sensitive in Iranian society and therefore he is frequently referred to as a ‘political’ artist or ‘pop’ artist. Scholars have described his style as somewhere between dissident and regime art.[8] The artist, himself, calls his work “people’s art” because it deals with social issues that affect everyday people. [9] His work is influenced by the Saqqa Kaneh movement and traditional Iranian art.

He has had solo shows in Amsterdam, Beirut, Dubai, London, Phnom Penh, and Tehran. His work is held by the British Museum, the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, the World Bank and the Trope museum. Hassanzadeh works primarily with painting, silkscreen, mosaics and mixed media.

Houshiary was born in Shiraz, Iran 1955. She moved to London in 1974. She studied at Chelsea School of Art, London 1976-1979, was Junior Fellow, Cardiff College of Art, 1979-1980, and her first solo exhibition was subsequently at Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff in 1980.