Fascinated by the Unknown

On 5 October at 19:00, the exhibition ‘Leo Kandl and Josef Polleross in Iran’ opens at the FINE ART Gallery in Traismauer, Austria. Visitors are also invited to attend the artist talk held on 21 October at 16:00 (advance registration requested).

The exhibition encompasses a selection of works by two Austrian-born photographers, created during repeated visits to Iran in the past 15 years. Leo Kandl (b. 1944), recipient of the 2015 Otto Breicha Photography Prize awarded by the Salzburg Museum of Modern Art, travelled to Iran three times between 2003 and 2012 – each time spending several weeks exploring the country and its cities with his camera. His series ‘In Iran’ introduces the viewer to a country which few of us will ever have the chance to see for ourselves. Kandl’s approach is not so much conceptual as it is personal. His images are captured with the unaffected gaze of a sensitive traveller, which greatly helps to bridge the geographic and cultural distance between viewer and subject.

In the course of an elaborate search spanning four years, Josef Polleross (b. 1963) set out to document the interiors of 40 old cinema buildings in Iran. His serene images are not only beautiful documents of an extraordinary architectural era, but also tell the story of pivotal cultural changes in Iran. When they were first built, these movie theatres – some of which can hold up to 1200 people – were welcomed as symbols of progress by some, whilst the country’s conservative forces saw them as places of sin and vice. In addition, Polleross complements the series with images showing the everyday lives of Iranian women, which are characterised by remarkable juxtapositions of tradition and modernity.

For further information visit Fine Art Galerie
Leo Kandl
Josef Polleross