Ali Meamar

Artist, Gallery Owner, Innovator

Artist Meamar was born Ali Meamar in Ahvaz, Iran, in 1956. At an early age, he moved to Florence, Italy, where he studied fine arts at the Accademia delle Belle Arti de Firenze, and obtained a Masters in Fine Arts with a specialization in Interior Design and Sculpture. In 1979, Meamar was selected as one of the top students in his class to meet Salvador Dali in Barcelona, Spain. After earning a degree in Graphic Arts from the Accademia d’Arte e Design Leonetto Cappiello of Florence, where he studied under the tutelage of the Master of the Frescoes, Meamar spent some time designing and creating murals in the Veneto region (the area surrounding Venice, Italy). In 1980, Meamar spent one year studying contemporary art in Paris. The next 10 years of his career were devoted to the exploration of surrealist art under the influence of Dali, whose encounter the year before produced a profound impact on the young artist. During that time, Meamar gained a lot of visibility in the European art scene through multiple shows in Paris (France) and Zurich (Switzerland) as well as in Rome, Florence, Venice, and Milan (Italy). The scope of Meamar’s stylistic expertise ranges from classical to abstract. From Italy to California, many a blank wall has come to life under the artist’s brush, skill and sensibility. His expertise for classical design and ancient fresco technique has graced private homes with scenes from the Renaissance period or Greek mythology. As an artist who has had the privilege to study in Italy with some of the greatest artists of this century in classical, modern and surrealist styles, Meamar draws upon his knowledge to add great breadth to his unique style. He finds new techniques to eloquently express his ideas, utilizing the mixed media format to be found in many of his pieces. A fond disciple of color, his works are never bland or sterile. He often prefers to use the dynamic color range of acrylics, casting them against paper backgrounds with plentiful use of light. One will always feel a positive emotion from these efforts, which reach across at many levels so that anyone may perceive it. In his latest collection, Meamar prints the image of one of his frescoes onto a wood panel in lieu of primer, turning it into a piece of his history as an artist. He then paints over it, creating a new history out of which emerge pieces of the past, in the form of a hand, a face, or an eye. In addition to the traditional five senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste, Meamar depicts other senses of beauty, balance/harmony, motion and temperature, as well as a sense of time. EXHIBITIONS 2011 – Miami Red Dot Art Fair, Miami, FL 2010 – New York Art Expo, New York, NY 2007 – ABRA Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2004 - Present - Art People Gallery, San Francisco 1999 - Hilton Fremont, CA 1989 - Art Expo-Los Angeles, CA 1988 - Art Expo-Los Angeles, CA 1987 - Art Expo-Los Angeles, CA 1983 - Doddoit Gallery-Paris, France 1982 - Est O Vest Gallery-Rome, Italy 1982 - Burdek AC Gallery-Zurich, Switzerland 1982 - Russo Gallery-Rome, Italy 1981 - Traghetto Gallery-Venice, Italy 1981 - Center Comunitario-Florence, Italy 1981 - Center Open Art-Milan, Italy 1980 - Arttits ABA- Florence, Italy 1978 - Festival of Art-Florence, Italy