Artist Statement/ Biography

Do certain visceral qualities of urban decay influence our experiences, memories and, ultimately, our sense of history? To answer these questions, Amir Hariri uses a multi-disciplinary approach to study specific locations through the opacity of fragmented recollections. His studies delve into the relationship between physical decay and deconstructive abstraction. Having been exposed to revolution/war as a teenager in Iran, his encounters with death/destruction have allowed Amir to draw parallels between building deconstruction and the despair, yet resiliency, of their exiled inhabitants. By blurring the boundaries between progress and ruin, he is making an observation regarding the misguided inevitability of evolution.

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Amir Hariri was born in Tehran, Iran, and immigrated to the United States to attend college in the early 1990s. After earning a Masters’ degree in engineering from Cornell University, he spent over a decade working on design projects from concert halls and museums to glass designs for Apple. Amir also spent 5 years studying painting and printmaking at the Art Students League, during which time he served as a teaching assistant and as a member of the board. His artwork incorporates his professional background in design and engineering, as well as studies in anatomy. Amir has exhibited nationally and internationally, with pieces included in public and private collections in the United States, Italy, Spain, Hong Kong, and Japan.