Selected Artist - ShowPOD Chicago - September 2015

Pilsen is known as one of the most artistic neighborhoods in Chicago. Every 2nd Friday of the month, Pilsen artists open their studio doors to public to showcase their art. Most of the buildings in Pilsen are owned and managed by Podmajersky who have been doing an amazing job in terms of promoting the artists in their area. One of the events they manage is  showPODs which are a series of 7 exhibition spaces, compact, dynamic, unmanned, and designed to support concepts of art experimentation and installation. Conceptualized by John Podmajersky III, and created by the Chicago Arts District, showPODs create an instant art experience in the non-traditional space and format of a high exposure art installation operating around the clock. showPOD, by design, can be viewed by anyone at anytime during the life of its installation, allowing a rich public art experience that breaks down the traditional limits of a gallery space or museum.

I'm honored to be selected as one of the artists for ShowPOD in the month of September 2015. The aim of my installation is going to be a cultural exchange, to share a part of Iranian Culture which is colorful, poetic and mystic. I will be sharing more updates and images soon. At this stage I'm finalizing the sketches for all the windows.  This is an ambitious and challenging project yet very exciting and I can not be more grateful to be selected as one of the artists to show during 2015.

Below images are only few of the windows for the installations. Stay tuned for more images and for the progress on the project.

Images and more updates on Christie's Auction - Dubai 2015 - MOP Nowruz Gala

The whole process from the time my painting was accepted to be part of 2015 MOP Foundation Gala till the time it was auctioned by Christie's was just like a dream. Very mixed feelings, I was so proud to see my name within such amazing artists. The event was mesmerizing as mentioned. Location was perfect, full of art, flowers and lovely people. The start of the evening we had a video message from HH Shahbanoo Farah Pahlavi - The former Queen of Iran - to us all and it was amazing. The setting, the speech, the whole thing was just spectacular. Then we had HE Sheikh Nahayan Bin Mubarak Al Narayan - Ministry of Culture, Youth & Social Development - reading a keynote speech to us all. And of course then came the Auction which I have mentioned in details in my previous posts...

Here you can have all the links to all the images, speeches and all for the Magic of Persia Foundation events in Dubai on Nowruz 2015. It was an honor to be part of this magical event and hoping to be part of it again in coming years.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL DETAILS AND IMAGES - MOP FOUNDATION - NOWRUZ GALA - Dubai / 2015

Introducing "The Persepolis Project"

The fiery destruction of Persepolis as a result of a drunken rage or a strategic geo-political move by Macedonian conquerors will be debated by his historians for ages. But the ages still whisper as you stand at the gates of this ancient city. Despite it’s torching in 330 BCE Once wandering it’s streets once still senses it’s unique place in Persian history as the the seat of government for the Achaemenian kings and a center for reception and ceremonial festivities. On first visit there I spent hours mesmerized by the carvings and the artistry of my ancestors. Those voices heard as faint echo’s from stone inspired the idea of creating the Perspolis Project.  I aim to amplify the whispers of those  amazing carvings - the Human-Headed Winged Lion, colossal bull head, Persian soldiers who are shown to be bringing tribute and gifts to the Persian king as a token of their loyalty - all are shown in these series mixed with a modern twist and using different media such as Farsi calligraphy, ink, paper, Acrylic, etc on wood panels. Dimensions vary. I invite you to view some of the art images HERE. The project is an ongoing project so stay tuned for some new images soon.