US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has officially opened an art exhibition in Washington featuring works from 30 contemporary Iranian artists.
Ten of the 14 Iranians who received special visas for the exhibition refused to be photographed with Rice, and two would not even accompany her through the gallery on Thursday because they were "uncomfortable", said two organisers.
Rashin Kheiriyeh is one of 30 Iranian artists whose works are on show at the Meridian International Center in Washington.
"Art moves above politics, and I didn't want to be a part of politics," said Behnam Kamrani, 39, a digital artist from Tehran.
Bahar Behbahni, 33, a mixed media artist from Tehran, said: "It doesn't mean that the artists aren't political or don't (care) about politics.
"Artists don't want to make political gestures. Our language is our art; we express ourselves through art."
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