Ala Ebtekar
The Absent Arrival, 2008
Mixed Media Print
Edition of 10
$1000

The Absent Arrival was produced for the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery’s inaugural educational and social event, On You Mark in June of 2008. All proceeds from the sale of this limited edition print go directly to the SFAC Gallery programming fund which supports artist honoraria and exhibition costs.

In The Absent Arrival Ebtekar collaborated with Electric Works Printmakers on his elaborate printmaking process, layering figures on top of each other by employing an energetic and light line-work method.

Ala Ebtekar
A Breath of Air, 2006
Digital pigment print
Edition of 15
$600

Ala Ebtekar was the 2006 recipient of the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery Print Award. Ebtekar’s limited edition print, A Breath of Air, was released at Commission ’06: Remix, a fundraising event that took place November of 2006.

Ebtekar’s print, A Breath of Air, was produced in collaboration with renowned fine art printers Trillium Press (now Electric Works). While visiting Iran in 2000, Ebtekar found an 80 year-old book at a Friday bazaar that has become the inspiration for a new body of work. The text is in Farsi and Arabic, and contains instructions by multiple authors on how to pray. Ala has adorned the book pages with cartoon-like bombs and depictions of clouds reminiscent of those found in Iranian miniature paintings. The juxtaposition of conceptual and stylistic elements generates a timely political statement within a format that blends street-style graphics with traditional text and design.

Ebtekar was raised in both Iran and the US. As a young teenager he joined the K.O.S. (Kids of Survival), working with artist Tim Rollins on collaborative artworks involving groups of urban youth. He received his BA from the San Francisco Art Institute and in 2006 his MFA degree at Stanford. He was a 2005 recipient of the San Francisco Foundation’s Murphy & Cadogan Fellowships in the Arts Award. His work is exhibited internationally and was recently featured in two prestigious exhibitions: One Way or Another: Asian American Art Now, a touring exhibition originating at the Asia Society, NYC, and in the 2006 California Biennial at the Orange County Museum of Art. In 2007, his work was featured in a solo exhibition at Gallery Paule Anglim in San Francisco, and in Under the Indigo Dome at The Third Line in Dubai. In 2007 Ebtekar participated in a six month residency with Cite des Arts in Paris. Ebtekar was a finalist for the 2008 SECA Award given by SFMOMA biannually to outstanding Bay Area artists. Currently his work is featured in Bay Area Now 5, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, July 19 - November 16, 2008.

Limited number of prints available, for more information or to purchase please contact: Aimee Le Duc, Gallery Manager at 415.554.6080 or aimee.leduc@sfgov.org

Ala Ebtekar, The Absent Arrival, 2008

Ala Ebtekar, A Breath of Air, 2006