TEHRAN — The twenty-fourth edition of Tehran Auction, Iran’s premier platform for modern and contemporary art, will be held online this October, continuing its embrace of digital commerce in the wake of global shifts accelerated by the pandemic. 
Marking a significant evolution in the country’s art market, the auction underscores the growing viability and acceptance of e-commerce within Iran’s cultural economy, reflecting broader trends in the international art world where digital accessibility increasingly shapes market dynamics.
At the forefront of this year’s auction are two monumental works estimated between 12 and 14 billion tomans: Masoud Arabshahi’s Relief (1978), a mixed-media panel invoking ancient architectural forms through its layered aluminum surfaces, and Reza Derakhshani’s expansive diptych Winter Hunt at Zarfam (2019), a luminous synthesis of Iranian miniature painting traditions and contemporary abstraction.
Arabshahi’s Relief exemplifies his nuanced departure from the Saqqakhaneh movement, employing aluminum sheets over a richly textured base to evoke the monumental gravitas of granite reliefs and the schematic geometry of ancient temples and ziggurats. 
His interplay of geometric motifs—squares, triangles, and cross-shaped symbols—imbues the work with an enigmatic resonance, while the patinated dark hues lend a geological solidity and a celestial quality reminiscent of extraterrestrial landscapes. 
This piece stands as a testament to Arabshahi’s ability to bridge ancient iconography with modernist abstraction, creating a dialogue between past and present that is at once tactile and meditative.
Derakhshani’s Winter Hunt at Zarfam continues his sustained exploration of Iranian visual heritage, reinterpreting motifs from traditional miniature painting through a contemporary, semi-abstract idiom. 
The rhythmic repetition of simplified human and equine forms across the expansive canvas negotiates the tension between figuration and abstraction, evoking a musical cadence that situates the work firmly within the lineage of Iranian modernism infused with Western expressionist influences. 
Derakhshani’s practice reflects a conscious effort to reconcile national cultural memory with global contemporary art vocabularies, making his work a compelling site of cross-cultural synthesis.
Other notable highlights include Kurosh Shishegaran’s Still Life (1980), an imposing oil on board that abstracts familiar domestic objects into minimalist, geometric planes. 
The work’s wide canvas and minimalist approach exemplify Shishegaran’s unique ability to distill complex compositions into simple, geometric forms, a hallmark of his engagement with traditional Iranian visual culture.
The auction also features multiple works by esteemed artists such as Parviz Kalantari, Farideh Lashai, and Mehrdad Muhammadi. Kalantari presents two works, including an acrylic on canvas from 2013 estimated between 5 and 6 billion tomans, while Lashai offers two pieces from 1998 and 2008, the latter previously shown in Tehran Auction’s thirteenth edition. 
Mehrdad Muhammadi contributes two significant paintings, including Taslim (2011), an acrylic on canvas, underscoring the continued vitality of Iranian modern and contemporary painting.
This year’s exhibition of 120 works, spanning painting, calligraphy, sculpture, and photography, prominently features contributions by women artists, highlighting their important presence in Iran’s contemporary art landscape. 
The exhibition runs from October 1 to 2 at Tehran’s Parsian Azadi Hotel, offering collectors and enthusiasts an opportunity to engage closely with the diverse offerings.