Modern Iran and the Avant-Gardes, 1948–78 explores how the complex cultural tensions of this period led to artistic innovation. As Iran became modern, modernism became distinctly Iranian. Iranian artists created a unique form of modernism that addressed the tension between commitments to innovate and an engagement with traditional Iranian ideas and cultural forms. Heavily illustrated, this publication features 30 artists who worked during the pivotal period between 1948 and 1978, and practiced in a range of media from painting and sculpture to printmaking, drawing and architecture. Featuring an introductory essay by exhibition curator Pantea Haghighi that surveys the range of artistic and political influences on the emergence of Iranian modernisms, and a selection of focused essays by scholars and curators Fereshteh.