Yari Ostovany
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
50 Works exhibited on Kooness
Current location
New York City
Represented by
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Works by Yari Ostovany
Yari Ostovany is an Iranian-born American abstract artist. He creates richly textured, layered color field paintings that explore processes of metamorphosis. He has lived in Tehran, Cologne, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Reno. He is currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Education
Yari Ostovany began his creative studies at age 14, he was first drawn to modern Persian poetry and then the visual arts. He earned his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1995, his BFA in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute and his BA in Art from the University of Nevada, Reno. He has received numerous awards and grants, including the Sierra Arts Endowment Grant, and has taught at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Technique
The paintings Ostovany creates unfold over time, evolving as layers of pigment are added, washed out, covered over, scraped away, dissolved and then more layers added. With each new phase in the process the composition becomes deeper and more luminous. A new painting often begins as a series of calligraphic gestural marks, what Ostovany calls a gesturaloutburst, inspired by a cognitive/emotional spark. Ostovany then rubs and dilutes the marks, allowing them to meld together with previous marks and layers, coaxing new dimensions of color and texture. The transient nature of the layers becomes embedded into the visual language of the work, evoking a sense of movement and transcendence.
Inspiration
Natural and mystical processes inspire Ostovany. He is attracted to the alchemistical transformation of formal elements like light, color, texture and space into compositions that are more than the sum of their disparate parts. Informed by a variety of different cultures, Ostovany feels a connection to multiple separate and yet complementary mystical traditions. He looks toward elements of Western and Eastern art, literature, spirituality, poetry and music to create an environment and a mindset conducive to his process, which is connected to Abstract Expressionism and Color Field painting.
Exhibitions
Yari Ostovany has exhibited his work in numerous solo exhibitions in the US, the UK, Canada, Iran, Tajikistan, Italy and Germany. His paintings have also been exhibited internationally in multiple two-person and group shows.
Collections
Work by Ostovany are included in many private collections around the world, as well as the collections of the New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut, the Pasargad Bank Museum in Tehran, and the Collection of the Art Department of the University of Nevada, Reno.
Solo Exhibitions
2018
Far Out Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Rebecca Molayem Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
The Living Room Gallery (Saint Peter's Church), New York, NY
Gallery Route One, Point Reyes Station, CA
2017
Aria Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Ruby Living Design, Mill Valley, CA
2016
Ligne Roset, San Francisco, CA
B&B&Co Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Mill Valley Arts Commission, Mill Valley, CA
2015
Aria Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Stanford Art Spaces, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
2014
Vorres Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Red Mountain Gallery, TMCC , Reno, NV
The Shed Contemporary, Dana Point, CA
LA Artcore, Los Angeles, CA
2013
Market Street Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Ligne Roset, San Francisco, CA
2012
Art People Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2011
Institute of Noetic Sciences, Petaluma, CA
2010
Queen Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2009
San Jose City College Art Gallery, San Jose, CA
2007
Northwest Reno Library, Reno, NV
2003
Art Corner Gallery, Cologne, Germany
2002
Bochum Kulturrat (City of Bochum Cultural Center), Germany
1998
Hourian Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1997
Other Art Gallery, Southern Oregon State College, Ashland, OR
1994
Footwork Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1989
Walter McNamara (SxN) Gallery, Reno, NV
1988
Manville Gallery, Reno, NV
Two Person Exhibitions
2018
Gallery at North Berkeley Investment Partners, Berkeley, CA
2016
Madrigal Family Winery Gallery, Sausalito, CA
2015
MiM Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2014
Courthouse Gallery, Lake George Arts Project, Lake George, NY
2013
Haleh Gallery, Berg am Starnberger See, Germany
Group Exhibitions
2018
Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA
2017
Kamil Art Gallery, Monaco-Ville, Monaco (Organized by Magic of Persia)
Carl Cherry Center for the Arts, Carmel, CA
Vida Hotel, Dubai, UAE
Niavaran Cultural Center, Tehran, Iran
GearBox Gallery, Oakland, CA
Museum Parc, San Francisco, CA
Misho Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2016
Galerie Art Eterne, New Delhi, India
Cabrillo Gallery, Aptos, CA
Foundry Art Centre, Saint Charles, Missouri
Hud Gallery, Ventura, CA
Seyhoun Gallery, West Hollywood, CA
Leila Heller Gallery, New York, NY
Buckham Gallery, Flint, MI
Vorres Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA
2015
LA Artcore, Los Angeles, CA
Maryland Federation of Art - Circle Gallery, Annapolis, MD
Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art, Newark, NJ
Luhring Augustine Gallery, New York, NY
Frank Juarez Gallery, Sheboygan, WI
Main Street Arts, Clifton Springs, New York
Limner Gallery, Hudson, NY
Niavaran Cultural Center, Tehran, Iran
Berkel ey Art Center, Berkeley, CA
2014
The Invisible Line Gallery, London, UK
Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland, OR
Arta Gallery, Toronto, Canada
Shirin Gallery NY, New York, NY
The SHED Contemporary, Dana Point, CA
Pro Arts Gallery, Oakland, CA
ABRA Gallery, Westlake Village, CA
Luhring Augustine Gallery, New York, NY
Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA
2013
Selby Gallery, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, FL
Vorres Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1337 Gallery, San Rafael, CA
Thomas & Paul Gallery, London , UK
2012
Misho Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Orange County Center For Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA
Estense Castle Museum, Ferrara, Italy
2011
ArtPeople Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Arts West Gallery, Elon, North Carolina
2010
Gallery 133, Toronto, Canada
2009
California State University, Fullerton Grand Central Art Center
Vision Gallery, Chandler, Arizona
2008
Galleria Lallihome, Varenna, Italy
2007
la Giornata del Contemporaneo , Camaver Kunsthaus, Lecco, Italy
Sierra Arts Gallery, Reno, NV
2006
Sheppard Contemporary, Reno, NV
2003
HotHouse Center for Performance & Exhibition, Chicago, IL
2002
Mojaveri Gallery, Cologne, Germany
2001
Kunsthof Merten, Merten, Germany
2000
K ö ln Galerie, Cologne, Germany
Aria Gallery, Tehran, Iran
1999
Ovissi Gallery, Emeryville, CA
Niavaran Cultural Center, Tehran, Iran
WORKS Gallery, San Jose, CA
Eklektikos Gallery, Washington, DC
1997
Evolving Perceptions, National Press Club, Washington, DC
San Jose City College, San Jose, CA
Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA
1996
Korean Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA
Monterey Peninsula College, Monterey, CA
1994
Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute, CA
Walter/McBean Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute, CA
1993
Terrain Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Walter/McBean Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute, CA
1992
San Francisco Art Institute Spring Exhibition, CA
1991
Dow & Frosini Gallery, Berkeley, CA
1990
E. L. Wiegand Museum of Art, Reno, NV
1989
Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas, NV
1988
Ackerman Center, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
Nevada State Council on the Arts, Reno, NV
1987
Walter McNamara (SxN) Gallery, Reno, NV
1986
Sierra Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV
2007
Sierra Arts Endowment Grant
1993
Annual San Francisco Art Institute Student Exhibition
1989, 1988
Craig Sheppard Memorial Art Scholarship
1988
Home Federal Bank Art Competition, Reno, Nevada
1988
Sierra Nevada Arts Foundation Grant, Reno, Nevada
1988, 1987, 1986
Annual University of Nevada - Reno Student Art Exhibition