Omid Mokri
Headlands Art Center
Past Exhibition
Mar 8 – Apr 3, 2023
Los Angeles
Exhibition Details
Omid Mokri
Headlands Art Center
Mar 8 - Apr 3, 2023
Gallery:
Huma House
Los Angeles
Connect:
@huma-house
Above: Omid Mokri
Eve, 2005
38 x 33 in (framed)
Colored pencil, crushed colored pencil, bedsheet
Omid Mokri shows at the Headlands Art Center in Sausalito, California.
Bay Area Fellow Omid Mokri is working in the Project Space studio of the Headlands for the month of March, and welcomes guests to visit and view in-progress and finished works. During this time he will be recreating the painting process that he invented during his time in San Quentin Prison: applying crushed crayon and color pencil to a canvas made of bedsheets cured with tea and milk.
Omid Mokri is an Iranian American artist classically trained in Iran in miniatures. His practice, beginning with classical Persian- and European-style paintings reflecting philosophical themes in the tradition of the vanitas, became a vehicle for survival while in prison in the United States. While incarcerated, Mokri used his work to tell the stories of inmates fighting to persevere against a system denying them their humanity, sketching inmate portraits on commonplace, symbolic items such as non-sufficient fund envelopes. Mokri was released at the precipice of a devastating COVID-19 outbreak at San Quentin, during which thousands of inmates were left to die in overcrowded housing units. He now wants to use his work as a platform for social commentary and advocacy, sharing stories about the prison-industrial-complex’s continued robbery of inmates’ humanity, dignity, and lives.
Mokri and his family fled Iran during the revolution. He has since earned degrees from both the Rhode Island School of Design and California College of the Arts. As an Iranian American, Mokri represents both cultures in his work. His work ranges from 18th century classical Persian-inspired paintings to contemporary drawing and painting to intricate book sculptures inlaid with items found in nature. As a classically trained artist, Mokri forges his own path using artwork to portray his unique perspective as a formerly incarcerated immigrant refugee.
Featured Works
Omid Mokri, Angel of Peace, 2011, colored pencil, crushed color pencil paint on a bedsheet, 42” x 56’’
(106.6 x 142.2 cm)
Omid Mokri, Fallen Angel, 2011, colored pencil, crushed colored pencil paint on a bedsheet, 42” x 56”
(106.6 x 142.2 cm)
Omid Mokri, The Temptation of Eve, Colored pencil, crushed colored pencil paint on a bedsheet
Installation Views
About the Artist
Omid Mokri is an Iranian American artist classically trained in Iran in miniatures. His practice, beginning with classical Persian- and European-style paintings reflecting philosophical themes in the tradition of the vanitas, became a vehicle for survival while in prison in the United States. While incarcerated, Mokri used his work to tell the stories of inmates fighting to persevere against a system denying them their humanity, sketching inmate portraits on commonplace, symbolic items such as non-sufficient fund envelopes. Mokri was released at the precipice of a devastating COVID-19 outbreak at San Quentin, during which thousands of inmates were left to die in overcrowded housing units. He now wants to use his work as a platform for social commentary and advocacy, sharing stories about the prison-industrial-complex’s continued robbery of inmates’ humanity, dignity, and lives.