first major exhibition of modern art from Iran, featuring 26 artists which included Ahmad Aali, Abbas, Massoud Arabshahi, Siah Armajani, Mohammad Ehsai, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Mansour Ghandriz, Marcos Grigorian, Ghasem Hajizadeh, Nahid Hagigat, Bahman Jalali, Rana Javadi, Reza Mafi, Leyly Matine-Daftary, Ardeshir Mohassess, Bahman Mohassess, Nicky Nodjoumi, Houshang Pezeshknia, Faramarz Pilaram, Behjat Sadr, Abolghassem Saidi, Sohrab Sepehri, Parviz Tanavoli, Mohsen Vaziri-Moqaddam, Manoucher Yektai, and Hossein Zenderoudi. The exhibition was divided into sections including Saqqakhaneh and neotraditional art styles influenced by folk art history, abstract art, and calligraphy. Saqqakhaneh artists’ fascination with signs and talismans has recently moved beyond avantgarde art and found its way into women’s fashion where its motifs are used in scarves, shawls, shirts and the like. Naqqashikatt Art movements, such as Saqqakhaneh, were significant precursors to the school of calligraphic painting. In Iran, the calligraphic art movement was known as Naqqashi-Katt (or Naqqashikatt). It was one of a number of art movements that emerged across the Middle East in the mid-20th century. Although these groups of artists emerged independently across North Africa and the Middle East, the common thread was that each searched for ways to integrate tradition and modernity in a way that would contribute to a distinctive local visual language. Each of these groups went by a different labels at the local level. In Jordan, the movement emerged in the 1950s and was known as Hurufiyaa. while in Iraq, the movement was known as Al-Bu'd al-Wahad (One Dimension Group). The movement was known as the Old Khartoum School in Sudan, where artists rejected Western art traditions and focused on Islamic calligraphy, West African motifs and local traditions in the pursuit of indigenous compositions. In Sudan, the movement was known. Notable artists in Iranian modern art Early Iranian modern artists (1940s) Ahmad Esfandiari Marcos Grigorian Javad Hamidi Shokouh Riazi Mohsen Vaziri-Moghaddam Jalil Ziapour Fighting Cock Society artists (1950s) Modern artists of the second wave (1950s–1960s) Bahram Alivandi Mir Abdolrez Daryabeigi Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian Mahmoud Farshchian Abbas Katouzian Leyly Matine-Daftary Behjat Sadr Manoucher Yektai Noureddin Zarrinkelk Saqqakhaneh movement artists (1950s–1960s) Massoud Arabshahi Mohammad Ehsai Mansoor Ghandriz Morteza Momayez Nasser Oveisi Faramarz Pilaram Sadeq Tabrizi Parviz Tanavoli Hossein Zenderoudi Later modern artists (1970s to present-day) Abbas (photographer) Reza Abedini, designer Shirin Aliabadi Ali Akbar Sadeghi Aydin Aghdashloo Kamrooz Aram Siah Armajani Morteza Avini Jamal Bakhshpour Shahin Charmi Bijan Daneshmand Reza Deghati Shahram Entekhabi Rokni Haerizadeh Parastou Forouhar Shadi