Amir H. Fallah

Artist’s Statement

My approach to art making is akin to the process of an archaeological dig. I begin by assuming the role of an analytical historian. I investigate my subject’s lives through the analysis of their personal belongings. Investigation of these objects slowly reveals the lives of my subjects, a history that becomes a complex mixture of facts and symbolism.

Field research is an integral part of my process. I visit people’s homes, and assemble a collection of their belongings that allude to their stories and identities. I become the arbiter of these individuals’ histories, curating found elements into contemporary portraiture. In direct opposition to the history of portraiture, I hide the true identity of my subjects by cloaking them in vivid, patterned fabrics found amongst their belongings. The viewer is forced to craft an identity for my subjects through their own interpretation of the curated elements I have presented.

Through the process of art making and the employment of contemporary portraiture, I am exploring the realms of truth through storytelling. Obsessive consideration of truth’s limitations can help us understand one another, and this examination of identity is the keystone of my practice.

Website: www.amirhfallah.com

Biography

Select Solo Exhibitions from 2011-2016

2016
Embedded Memories, Mohsen Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2015
The Caretaker, Nerman Museum Of Art, Overland, KS

2014
Between The Folds, JOYCE Gallery, Hong Kong

2013
The Collected, The Third Line, Dubai United Arab Emirates

Select Group Exhibitions from 2011-2016

2016
Human Condition, The Hospital, Los Angeles, CA

2015
We Must Risk Delight- Twenty Artists From Los Angeles, 56th La Biennale Di Venezia, Venice, Italy

2014
Theory Of Survival:Fabrications, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA

2013
Cash, Cans & Candy, Galerie Ernst Hilger, Vienna, Austria

Select Fellowships and Awards

2015
Joan Mitchell Foundation 2015 Painters & Sculptors Grant
18th Street Arts Center Artist Lab Residency, Santa Monica, CA

2002–2005
Jacob Javits Fellowship

2001
Maryland Institute, College of Art Barry Holniker Merit Scholarship

Education

MFA 2005
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Los Angeles, California

BFA 2001
Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) Baltimore, Maryland