LOS ANGELES
1964 - 1975
ERIC AND SHEILA AZARI BEL AIR RESIDENCE, 1965
“Our family came back to the United States in 1964. It was a time of rock and roll and sexual liberation, and a fundamental change of culture was underway in the country. We had some of that fever going on in our house. we did a lot of entertaining.”
ERIC AZARI
In 1964 they returned to Los Angeles and remained deeply connected to Tehran and its creative community.
Uniquely, their collection and narrative breathe life into an artistic movement and the artists who were a part of it. It is without question that Sheila and Eric shaped the discourse of Iranian modern art.
ETHNIC DANCE PERFORMANCE, AZARI RESIDENCE BEL AIR 1972
Their hope was always to nurture and act as a conduit between cultures to realize the promise and power of global cultural exchange.
In order to fulfil this vision they created the Ishtar Gallery
Just as their arrival to Iran was at a time of cultural regeneration, their return to the US was marked also, by a fundamental shift in culture: the time of rock and roll and sexual liberation.
Eric Azari
ISHTAR GALLERY PRESS RELEASE CIRCA 1965
ISHTAR GALLERY PRESS RELEASES AND PRICE LISTS, SORAB SEPERI EXHIBITION CIRCA 1965
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INTERIOR AZARI RESIDENCE, BEL AIR 1965
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Sheila brought diverse people together around cultural exchange. an art show, performance, party; that was her style. her conviction was that culture is the truer representation of identity and intent, not political dictate or commercial paradigms.
Our gatherings were frequented by an interesting mix of scientists, artists, business people, academics, politicians, musicians, actors and Hollywood stars like our friend and neighbour Natalie Wood”.
ERIC AZARI
Although she mixed art and commerce, her efforts were always in the service of art as the most important and fundamental aspect of human endeavour, and ultimately the only way people can understand either themselves or each other.
The gallery was a landmark success conceptually and socially. The parties were epic, the shows impactful, the late night discussions inspired but in the end Americans had limited understanding or appreciation of “foreign art”. the art was undervalued. Like most visionaries Sheila was before her time, and in the end she decided that it was better to hold the works for the important future they were destin for.
In 1970 a deep recession gripped the United States, brought on in part by the Middle East oil embargo. This made it very difficult, if not impossible, to create a sustainable interest in contemporary Iranian art in the US, or to create the funding scenarios necessary to support the artists who had meanwhile scattered all over the world out of necessity.
ISHTAR GALLERY BILL OF SALE, 1966
The one, two, three punches of the Great Recession of the 1970’s, followed by the Iranian Revolution, followed by the Iraq War brought an end to that era of cultural exchange. It is a sad and ironic context to look back on this art, Sheila’s vision and what might have been.
“The end of the Pahlavi dynasty at the hands of the Iranian revolution in 1979 was the second significant setback that profoundly derailed our artistic endeavors. To say that “the climate wasn’t right” to promote our collection would be too simplistic. It is hard to evoke memories of the depth of the upheaval.
Clearly there was no place for a dialogue in art in this climate. Despite these setbacks, Sheila continued to work towards her goals with her Ishtar Gallery, albeit with some adjustments. But if in time the collection could have survived the first two blows, it would collapse at the force of the third - Sheila’s untimely death in 1998. Sheila’s passing was devastating, and the collection was quietly packed away together with a lifetime of hopes and dreams.”
ERIC AZARI
“THE ERA WAS OVER, THE BEL AIR HOUSE WAS SOLD. SHIELA PASSED AWAY. THE art WENT INTO STORAGE WHERE IT REMAINED FOR OVER 20 YEARS”
SOME OF THE WORKS PLACED IN STORAGE AFTER THE BEL AIR HOUSE WAS SOLD IN 1992