Walter Niedermayr (born 1952) is among Europe's finest contemporary photographers, a virtuoso in the portrayal of contemporary architecture and Alpine landscapes whose subtle handling of scale, diffuse light effects and desaturated color has been much imitated in recent years. Between 2005 and 2008, Niedermayr traveled in Iran, visiting Tehran, Isfahan, Yazd, Shiraz and other smaller cities and historical sites. His travels spurred the undertaking of a new series examining Iranian architecture in its cultural and historical context. The resulting photographs reveal a wild mingling of east and west as older buildings jostle with colorful billboards, beltways and apartment blocks that look as if they could be located anywhere in the world. As with Niedermayr's famous winter landscapes, the majestic, pale color composition of these photographs transports them far beyond mere documentary, towards a sense of tremendous scale and implied political narrative. Like the photographer's previous...