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 Amir Aghareb.

Amir 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. Amir 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.

Amir enjoys taking carefully composed 2D conventional photographs as well as non-conventional 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.

Amir’s 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”.