"Flora" An intimate series of plant portraits. Exhibition by Ramin Samandari

Part of Contemporary Art Month. Exhibition on view through May 15, 2024.

Opening Reception: February 29, 2024 from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

First Friday: March 1, 2024 from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

About the artist:

Iranian-born photographer Ramin Samandari arrived in Odessa, Texas in 1978 at age 17, sent there by his parents in the midst of the Iranian revolution. Samandari thought he might return to his homeland in a few years with a medical degree, but then the Iran-Iraq War broke out, so he renewed his U.S. visa, eventually got a green card, and in 1990 he became a U.S. citizen.

A resident of San Antonio since 1988, Samandari decided in the early ’90s to pursue his lifelong passion of photography. Throughout the ’90s, Samandari exhibited mostly in non-traditional venues in San Antonio and Austin.

Between 2000 and 2001, he had solo exhibitions at the University of Incarnate Word’s Center for Spirituality, the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, Carver Cultural Art Center and the San Antonio Museum of Art. He has been a stalwart of the San Antonio art scene ever since.

His work has been exhibited at The Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum, UTSA gallery, Southwest School of Art, Artpace, City of San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture and many private galleries.

Samandari’s work is in the permanent collection at San Antonio Museum of Art, University of Texas at San Antonio, Tobin Center for the Performing Art and Institute of Texan Cultures.

Samandari was selected as Artist of the Year for 2023 by San Antonio Art League and Museum.