ON VIEW THROUGH AUGUST 1 · NEW YORK
Conviction
Haleh Atabeigi — paintings for the women held in Iran’s political prisons
Since July 9, Haleh Atabeigi’s Conviction has hung on our walls: paintings of garments, each one belonging to a woman held in Iran’s political prisons. It stays up through August 1. Two reasons to come back before it closes — a conversation this Thursday with the two journalists who chronicled the uprising these women helped set in motion, and a group of paintings now available to collect.
BOOK TALK · THIS THURSDAY, JULY 16
Fatemeh Jamalpour & Nilo Tabrizy
For the Sun After Long Nights: The Story of Iran’s Women-Led Uprising
Thursday, July 16 · 6–8 PM · at the gallery
Both authors of For the Sun After Long Nights (Pantheon Books) — longlisted for the National Book Award — join us in the gallery. Fatemeh Jamalpour reported from the streets of Tehran through the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising before going into exile; Nilo Tabrizy followed it from the United States. Together they wrote a first-person account of the largest protests Iran has seen in decades — about the same women whose garments hang on these walls.
The evening is a reading and conversation with both authors, moderated by novelist Sahar Delijani (Children of the Jacaranda Tree), followed by audience questions. Books will be available and signed, and wine will be served. Space is limited, and you must RSVP to receive a signed book, for free.
“Zeynab,” 48×44″, acrylic on canvas, 2025 — for Zeynab Jalalian
Zeynab Jalalian — a Kurdish-Iranian activist, and one of the longest-held women political prisoners in Iran. Arrested in 2008 and sentenced to death for an affiliation she has always denied — later commuted to life — she has now spent more than seventeen years inside, her eyesight failing from illness left untreated.
The works, and the women they hold
These paintings were made so that women who cannot travel — and cannot appear before us — might still be seen. To live with one is to keep her name present in a room: an act of witness, and a way of keeping faith until she is free. A few are available now; to see any in person, or ask about a work not shown here, just reply.
“Fatemeh,” 48×30″, acrylic on canvas, 2025 — for Fatemeh Sepehri
Fatemeh Sepehri — a war widow and devout Muslim from Mashhad who became one of the regime’s most fearless critics. In 2019 she signed an open letter calling on Iran’s Supreme Leader to step down; today she is serving cumulative sentences reported in the tens of years, gravely ill and repeatedly denied medical care.
“Fatemeh” · 48×30″ · $7,500
Available
“Elaheh,” 24×20″, acrylic on canvas, 2024 — for journalist Elaheh Mohammadi
Elaheh Mohammadi — the journalist who traveled to Saqqez to cover Mahsa Jina Amini’s funeral, the gathering that helped set the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising in motion. Held in Evin, she shared the 2023 UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize with fellow reporter Niloufar Hamedi, and was pardoned in February 2025.
“Elaheh” · 24×20″ · $2,500
Available
“Evin,” no. 1 to 27 — twenty-seven small canvases painted from handmade crafts made by women inside Tehran’s Evin prison. Because the objects themselves cannot leave Iran, Haleh paints them, “as a way of transporting their essence here for us to feel and keep.” At $500, they are the most direct way to carry one of these stories home.
Across the exhibition
“Evin,” no. 1–27 — 8×8″ — $500 each
Garment paintings, 24×20″ — $2,500
Fatemeh, Zeynab, Sepideh #2 — $7,500
“Time,” single-channel video, edition of 5 — $3,500
Narges, Vida, Sepideh #1 (48×44″) — price on request
Request the catalogue
Every work, the women’s stories, and Haleh’s own writing, gathered in one catalogue. Reply to this email and we’ll send it your way — and we’re glad to arrange a private viewing by appointment.
Exhibition details
Conviction — Haleh Atabeigi
On view through August 1, 2026
Book talk: Thursday, July 16, 6–8 PM
Gallery hours: Wednesday–Saturday, 1–6 PM, and by appointment
Collective Z, 325 Broome Street, 1W, New York, NY 10002
Exhibition site: conviction-art.com
With conviction,
Alex Z. Wang
Founder & Director, Collective Z
Collective Z · 325 Broome Street, 1W, New York, NY 10002