The works of Iranian artist, photographer, and filmmaker Shirin Neshat (b. 1957) exude self-confidence and a powerful presence but also an air of vulnerability. Central themes in Neshat’s art are identity, origin, and power structures. Her works are defined by a melding and broadening of the rich visual traditions of Persian and Western art. The US-based artist’s work is now the subject of the museum’s first presentation in association with the Written Art Collection. Her most recent work series, Land of Dreams (2019), revolves around the traditional calligraphy of her country of origin as well as the Western canon of portraiture, and combines for the first time the media of photography and video in a single work. The most important Persian artist working today takes writing, gestural expression, and formal variety to create a compact lyrical, rhythmic whole, with each work telling its own story of universal human experience