The New Gallery presents ‘The Sky is [Still] Mine’ by Amir Aghareb
(Posted on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022)
The New Gallery, with support from The Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts and the Department of Art + Design, continues the 2022-23 exhibition season with The Sky is [Still] Mine, a solo exhibition by photographer Amir Aghareb.
“It is always exciting to be able to exhibit one of our own,” said Michael Dickins, director of The New Gallery. “I offer a solo exhibition to our new Art + Design faculty during the third year of their professorship. This gives the students, colleagues and community a chance to see the faculty member’s newest creative research. Amir’s work in The New Gallery combines traditional photography, large-format photo installations and projection design. This combination is a conversation between what photography is considered and what it could be. It is also a conversation about what one is exposed to when being relocated. As an artist born in Iran who now lives in Clarksville, Amir’s recent work is about physical spaces and the similarities and differences between Tehran and Tennessee. This exhibition is built around the poem of Persian poet Sohrâb Sepehrî in which it states, “No Matter where I am, the sky is [still] mine.”
The exhibit opens on Monday, Nov. 7, and runs through Dec. 9 at The New Gallery, located in the Art + Design building on the campus of Austin Peay State University.
There are several events associated with this exhibition:
- Aghareb will present an artist lecture on his work and creative practice on Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. in Room 120 of the Art + Design building.
- A reception and gallery talk with Aghareb will be in The New Gallery on Nov. 17 beginning at noon.
- This exhibition will be open during Clarksville’s First Thursday Art Walk on Dec. 1 from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
All events are free and open to the public.
A virtual tour of the exhibition will be available soon at www.apsu.edu/art-design/thenewgallery.
Hours for The New Gallery are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., closed on weekends and holidays, and follows the university’s academic calendar. For more information, contact Dickins at dickinsm@apsu.edu.
About the artist
Aghareb is a photographer, educator and lifetime learner who grew up in Isfahan, Iran. He earned his MFA in Art with a concentration in photography from Pennsylvania State University, after having explored architectural engineering and materials engineering. He has exhibited his photos nationally and internationally and has received numerous awards. His fine art and commercial architectural photos have been widely published. He has received photographic distinctions from international organizations, including the Royal Photographic Society (England), the International Federation of Photographic Art (Belgium), the Global Photographic Union, and the Photographic Society of America. He is the professor of photography in the Department of Art and Design at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee.
Aghareb enjoys taking carefully composed 2D conventional photographs as well as nonconventional work that pushes the usual definition of the medium. Illuminated encapsulated photographs in translucent cubic frames, laser-etched tea-toned cyanotypes of photographs taken by cellphone, heavily composited photographs that question the trustworthiness of a photograph and works that occupy the space rather than just a part of the wall are examples of his work.
His recent work is about physical spaces. He explores the similarities and differences one is exposed to when being relocated. The work is also about finding peace where one can extend their imagination and place themselves wherever they desire. It is about looking high above when surrounded by unfamiliarity. As the Persian poet Sohrâb Sepehrî said, “No matter where I am, the sky is [still] mine.”
You can learn more about Aghareb’s work by visiting his website or Instagram.
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