An interview taken from our new digital issue. Orkideh Daroodi, a passionate advocate for contemporary Iranian art, has been the dedicated gallerist behind Tehran’s O Gallery since 2014.
As a woman-owned establishment, O Gallery showcases emerging and established Iranian artists, both locally and globally.
Celebrating its 10th year, the three-story 1960s building-turned-gallery in central Tehran offers two distinct exhibition spaces and a private viewing room. Boasting a diverse roster of thirty artists, O Gallery stands as a prominent voice in the art world with an engaging schedule of physical and online exhibitions. Orkideh Daroodi, born in 1982 in Tehran, holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from UC Davis, California. After her early art immersion at Assar Art Gallery, she embarked on a remarkable journey of promoting and fostering contemporary Iranian art through O Gallery.
How did you come to open an art gallery in Tehran?
I left Iran when I was about 13 years old with my family. After I finished my studies there, I stayed for about a year and then came back to Iran in my mid-20s. For a few years, I was doing different jobs, mostly writing papers, teaching English, and things like that. Until I started working at a gallery called Assar Art Gallery. I was there for about four years.
What I noticed while working there was young artists coming in with samples of their works on CDs. They would want to give the CD to the director to have a look to see if they could have a show at the gallery. Because they had a limited roster of artists, and their shows were relatively long, they couldn’t show many of the younger artists. They would have one or maybe two guest artists each year. I felt there was this niche to represent young artists.
There are so many young artists, either graduated from the universities or self-taught; they need a space to show their work! Not that there weren’t other galleries showing the work of young artists, but I thought there was room for another gallery to focus on the work of young and emerging artists. I wanted to be in the centre because I wanted to be accessible to art students and enthusiasts. The centre has now turned into a cultural hub with lots of galleries, cafés, and bookshops.
O Gallery is within walking distance of a couple of different galleries as well. Tehran is not like other cities where you have a cluster of galleries; it’s nice to have a few galleries close by.
I opened the gallery in 2014, and the focus has remained on finding new talent and working with young emerging artists. I also travel a lot, less now, but I still try to do studio visits outside of Tehran. I was keen to present more underrepresented artists who live in other cities besides Tehran. About 25 exhibitions I’ve had so far have been with artists from different cities.
Another focus that I didn’t even know I was interested in is paper. One of the gallery’s focuses has also been showing and promoting the work of artists who work with paper, either on paper or with paper. That’s something that has happened along the way and has continued in the past nine years that I’ve been running the gallery.
What requirements are there for up-and-coming artists to exhibit at O Gallery?
Nothing prior. I just look at their work, and if they have a collection that I think is ready to be shown, that’s all we need. There is no prior experience of having any exhibitions. In the beginning, it was just me alone, but now we have a curatorial team that looks at the works we receive, mostly via email or through recommendations of other artists.
If there is anything we find of interest, we schedule a studio visit to see the works up close.
That was one of my main focuses and one of the main reasons why I opened the gallery. It’s been important to try to cater to as many artists as possible each year but the quality of work is the most important criterion and now after nine years of working we have decided to reduce the number of shows we have each year.
How would you describe the art scene in Iran? And how has it changed since you opened the gallery 14 years ago?
When I opened the gallery, two other galleries opened around the same time. If I’m not mistaken, one about one month prior and one about a month after.
In the past nine or ten years, the number of galleries that have opened is unbelievable. I think 10, or more have opened. I keep thinking to myself, who’s going to show at these galleries? And there’s always more and more and more artists. The art scene has been vibrant ever since I’ve been in the business and like any other industry it has its ups and downs. But I think the new generation of galleries is working well.
You see a lot of changes; we have the Argo Factory, which is an extraordinary space that has opened. I think that has changed the art scene tremendously; we’ve had nothing like it in Iran before it. That’s also been great because they show artists from abroad, non-Iranian artists as well. Not many people travel here now, and getting out of the country is difficult. So, to be able to see art from the outside is very nice for everyone.
There are about 300 registered galleries in just Tehran I think; not all of them are working. I would say about 50 are working, and of those 50, I would say 20 are more active.
Read the full interview here:
Follow @ogallerytehran on Instagram to keep up with upcoming exhibitions. Photos by Mehran Danaei.
