Acutely aware of the rigour of a disciplined process, Golnaz Fathi is distinguished in being one of only a handful of women trained to the highest levels within the traditional school of Persian calligraphy. However, Fathi made the conscious decision to pursue a different career as a contemporary artist instead. Fathi’s astonishing combination of a traditionally trained refinement and an instinctively bold abstraction is exemplified in such recent works as the brilliantly abstracted Sunset, which expresses on canvas emotions that reach far beyond the realm of simple words. While sunset is generally seen as calmly tranquil and one of the most beautiful times of the day, large cities like Tehran are suffering cruelly from photochemical smog that lies over the city like a pall, particularly in winter. Besides the toxic fumes of many old vehicles filling the air with exhaust gases, conditions have worsened recently as low quality and highly polluting fuel is burnt to keep power plants running during the world-wide shortages of natural gas.