ARTIST STATEMENT
“Time's hands shape all that we are and all that we know. With each passing moment I breathe, I grow, I die, and express my brief existence through marks in paint, stone, wood, and land. These material gestures are renderings of this changing universe, prayers made visible, tangible articulations of that which is simultaneously fleeting and eternal.”
- Kamran Samimi
IInformed by a strong sense of place and his multi-cultural identity (Iranian/Norwegian raised in rural Hawai'i), Kamran Samimi's practice centers on natural and indigenous ephemera (stones, wood, pigment, and land) as conduits to explore the intricate dynamics, tensions, and histories that exist between human and non-human ancestors. Feeling socially and culturally isolated due to his mixed heritage, Samimi was drawn to the honesty and directness of the natural world and developed a particular kinship with stone.
Kamran has always been drawn to stone, not as simply an art material, but rather a philosophical anchor: a tangible part of this universe which may teach about the passage of time, resilience, and impermanence.
Through this framework, Samimi questions how the inter-connection of history, culture, and nature might engender moments of equilibrium, compassion and healing. In a world marked by oppression, injustice, and widespread devastation, Samimi seeks a sense of balance and serenity, taking inspiration from the direct, experiential focus on Nature also found in Zen Buddhism and Sufi Mysticism. Hence, his approach is both reverent and whimsical, mirroring Nature's gestures: deconstructing and reforming with intention and compassion.
Kamran is represented by The Third Line (Middle East / North Africa) and re.riddle (San Francisco Bay Area)
Photo by Joey Trisolini
BIO
Kamran Samimi grew up in rural Laupāhoehoe on Hawaiʻi Island to parents of Iranian and Norwegian ancestry. He has been exhibiting art since 2008, and has had solo exhibitions at The Third Line, Dubai, the Sharjah Art Museum in United Arab Emirates, the Honolulu Museum of Art, and the Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design.
His work is in the permanent collection of the Sharjah Art Foundation, the Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, and the Hawai’i State Foundation of Culture and the Arts. Samimi was the recipient of the 2024 Artists of Hawai’i Best In Show Award and holds an BFA in Printmaking and an MFA in Print Media and Sculpture from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He has gallery representation by The Third Line in Dubai and re.riddle in San Francisco.