UTPB graphics professor to have solo exhibition


University of Texas Permian Basin faculty member Hamed Edalati will present Interweaving, his first solo exhibition, this week at the Nancy Fyfe Cardozier Gallery in the Charles A. Sorber Visual Arts Studio.
The opening reception is 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Jan. 30 and the show will run Jan. 31 through Feb. 26.
Edalati moved to the U.S. two years ago from Iran and most recently was a teaching assistant/instructor of record and before that a graduate assistant, both at Florida Atlantic University in Fort Lauderdale.
Associate Professor of Art Chris Stanley said he has wanted a graphic design professor for more than 30 years.
An assistant professor of graphic design, Edalati said in a description the exhibition examines the intricate interplay of identity, language and cultural migration through the lens of graphic design.
Mirrors play a central role in the exhibition, symbolizing self-reflection and “the merging of multiple perspectives,” the description details.
“By juxtaposing light, movement and poetic forms, the works encourage viewers to uncover hidden layers, both within the art and within themselves, fostering moments of personal and collective understanding. Through this immersive experience, Interweaving celebrates the enduring connection to one’s roots while embracing the transformative possibilities of cultural exchange,” the description adds.
There are six pieces in the show, three of which are interactive, requiring viewers to engage with the piece to reveal a message, said Edalati who is from Mashhad, Iran.
“It will be fun, because, you know, generally overly there are six of my recent works installed in this exhibition. Three of them are an installation that they used just tape to kind of showcase my ideas and concepts based on my personal experience of immigration and changing identity,” he added.
For the first two years he was in the U.S., he resisted the change, but he could feel the change in himself because of the changing environments.
“There’s a huge difference between here and where I was born” and grew up, Edalati said.
For the interactive pieces that he created for his thesis, he tried to experience different media.
“I’m a graphic designer, and in this exhibition, I try to push the boundaries of media graphic designers usually use,” he said.
Edalati said he’s thrilled about having an exhibit at UTPB.
“I have participated in many jury shows and group shows, but I haven’t had a solo exhibition yet. This is my first solo exhibition, and I’m super excited about it,” he added.
He has displayed his work in different shows, but he hasn’t had all of them together at the same time.
The pieces were created over a period of two years.
For a few of them, the way to see the message is with a flashlight. It projects the words and phrases onto the wall if you put the flashlight at the right angle.
There are sayings and idioms from English and Farsi.
“Each … saying gives us a different result and different feeling,” Edalati said.
Related
link