Portraiture: A Popular Genre in the Art World

Throughout the history of art, portraiture has been one of the most familiar and enduring genres of painting, offering a visual record of social relationships, class distinctions, cultural preferences, and even the structures of power that shaped different periods. Despite its significance within art history, however, portraiture has rarely been the subject of quantitative, data-driven research. This article draws upon the findings of the study The Changing Faces of the Paris Salon: Portraiture, 1740–1881, published in Poetics in 2022 by Diana Seave Greenwald and Kim Oosterlinck. Using an extensive dataset, the authors examined the role of portraiture in the Paris Salon, providing new insights into the genre's significance, its transformation over time, and the shifting social and demographic characteristics of the individuals depicted in portraits.

The group exhibition Face to Face will open on July 17 at Artibition Gallery, presenting works centered on portraiture.

Undoubtedly, portraiture is one of the most significant genres throughout the history of art, maintaining a continuous presence from the earliest civilizations to the age of artificial intelligence. In the past, portraiture served as a means of recording the presence and status of important individuals; however, in contemporary art, this genre has evolved into a medium for addressing fundamentally different questions. The broad potential of portraiture has led some of the world’s most prestigious museums, including the National Portrait Gallery (London) and the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery (Washington, D.C.), to present portraiture as a powerful tool for exploring history, society, and culture.

From mid-June to early July, the Arthal building hosted three art events across two independent spaces of the Artibition Gallery. The exhibitions “Modern Collector” and “Selection”, each with a different approach, were presented in Gallery No. 1 and Gallery No. 2 at Artibition. Alongside these exhibitions, posters from the 10th edition of the Shiraz Arts Festival were displayed in a space on the basement level of the Arthal building. Additionally, books published by Honar Hall Publishing and Nazar Publishing were also presented.

In one chapter of Lives of the Artists, Calvin Tomkins explores the life and artistic practice of Richard Serra. He recounts Serra's formative years, his early encounters with modern art, and his rise to become one of the most influential contemporary sculptors in the United States.

This article begins with an encounter between two identically titled works: two Rabbits whose only shared feature is their name, yet whose visual presentation generates entirely different experiences for the viewer, situated at opposite poles. Jeff Koons’s Rabbit, with its polished and reflective surface, is firmly embedded within the visual and market-oriented logic of contemporary art. In contrast, Nikzad Nojoumi’s Rabbit, with its anthropomorphic and restrained body, confronts the viewer with an experience of suspension and violence. This opposition gives rise to the central question of the article: how does a single visual sign, operating within two distinct artistic fields, produce different systems of meaning, value, and artistic legitimacy? To address this question, the article examines the two works titled Rabbit by Jeff Koons and Nikzad Nojoumi.

In the late years of every summer, the walls of Tehran and Shiraz were adorned with posters for the Shiraz Arts Festival—posters that heralded the emergence of modern Iranian art at the crossroads of East and West. Today, these works are regarded as some of the most important examples of modern Iranian graphic design from the 1960s and 1970s. Their role extended far beyond merely announcing a cultural and international event; they played a fundamental part in shaping the visual identity of the festival and in fostering modernist movements in Iranian art and graphic design. The design of these posters combined traditional Iranian elements, Persian typography, and modern approaches drawn from international graphic design. Each poster preserves a chapter of Iran’s modern art history and is recognized as a distinguished work of art in its own right. The Shiraz Arts Festival was held over eleven editions, from 1967 to 1977, and became one of Iran’s most significant international cultural events. It provided a platform for artists from various disciplines across Iran, Asia, Europe, and the United States to present their work in the historic settings of Persepolis and Naqsh-e Rostam near Shiraz, helping to usher in a new era for Iranian art on the world stage.

The "Modern Collector" group exhibition, featuring works by prominent artists, will be held on June 28 at Artibition Gallery. A separate exhibition titled SELECTION 1, featuring paintings, sculptures, and posters from the history of art, will also be on display in Gallery No. 2.

Cindy Sherman, an American postmodern photographer and feminist, is described by Calvin Tomkins, author of Portraits of Contemporary Art, as a famous and highly respected but intimate figure who is not happy to be known as such. She is an artist who does everything herself, from makeup to lighting and framing. Sherman is best known for her conceptual portraits, but she also has a background in film directing. The following is a summary of Calvin Tomkins’ narrative.

The 61st Venice Biennale was conceived by Koyo Kouoh, the Cameroonian-Swiss curator. Following Koyo Kouoh’s death in May 2025, her plan for the Biennale is now being carried out by her team. “In Minor Keys” is the title Koyo Kouoh chose for this international art exhibition, inviting audiences not merely to view a show, but to slow down and engage with works that challenge dominant narratives through subtlety, emotion, and layered histories. Koyo Kouoh also sees artists not simply as observers, but as catalysts who, by blending the frequencies of the soul and the signals of the earth, create a polyphonic and poetic space. The Biennale’s performances likewise place the body at the center, turning it into a site of knowledge, memory, political resistance, and collective healing.

The concept of "art" is one of the most fundamental and at the same time the most variable concepts in the history of human culture and thought. In addition to displaying human emotions and imagination, art is also an indicator of the evolution of aesthetic values ​​and attitudes in each period. The following material is taken from the book "History of Fundamental Concepts of Aesthetics" by Władysław Tatarkiewicz. This research work, which examines the historical and philosophical course of the concept of art from ancient times to the contemporary era, shows how the meaning and function of art have changed over time.

The book “Portraits of Contemporary Art” is shaped by emphasizing the lifestyle of artists and the circumstances that governed the creation of their works. In this book, Calvin Tomkins has interviewed artists: painter and sculptor Damien Hirst, photographer Cindy Sherman, director and screenwriter Julian Schnabel, sculptor Richard Serra, lighting artist James Turrell, sculptor and filmmaker Matthew Barney, painter and photographer Maurizio Cattelan, American painter Jasper Johns, painter and sculptor Jeff Koons, and musician John Karin. In the following, we will publish parts of this review and interviews with 10 artists in order.