A looming figure of the Iranian art scene, and at once collector, mentor and artist, Fereydoun Ave is known for spearheading Tehran's first alternative art space in the 1980s, his artistic obsession with masculine tropes embodied in the 10th-century hero Rostam and a close relationship with Cy Twombly. His own work, though distinctly Iranian in its preoccupations, marries all these influences in a rich lyrical abstraction, as he reveals to me during a home visit.

Things have never been easy for Iran's gallerists and artists, and the recent tightening of US-led economic sanctions has ushered in a new currency crisis, affected an art market already insulated from the rest of the world. Yet the Iranian capital boasts over 200 galleries and a thriving cultural scene, as recently demonstrated by the small but well-presented Teer Art fair (24-30 June). Founded by Hormoz Hematian and directed by Maryam Majd, both gallerists themselves, the fair was the first of its kind ever to take place in Iran.

Imagine you are a gallerist preparing to attend an art fair. But almost overnight, the value of the works you plan to sell drops by half. What is a bad dream for some dealers is a reality in Tehran, where 10 dealers gathered last week to participate in the country’s first art fair. Teer Art opened against the backdrop of protests in the Iranian capital as the country’s currency, the rial, hit a new low. Since the US withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal in May, the rial has lost more than 40 p

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