Ramin Samandari,
2023 SAALM Artist of the Year
Artist's Statement: I arrived in Odessa, Texas in 1978 at age 17, sent there by my parents in the midst of the Iranian revolution. At the time I thought I might return to my homeland in a few years with a medical degree, but then the Iran-Iraq War broke out, so I renewed my U.S. visa, eventually got a green card, and in 1990 became a U.S. citizen.
A resident of San Antonio since 1988, I decided in the early '90s to pursue my life long passion of photography. Throughout the '90s, I exhibited mostly in non traditional venues in San Antonio and Austin. Between 2000 and 2001, I had several 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.
My work has been exhibited at The Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum, UTSA gallery, Southwest School of Art, Artpace, City of San Antonio Department of Culture and Creative Development and many private galleries.
My work is in the permanent collection at San Antonio Museum of Art, University of Texas at San Antonio, The Tobin Center for the Performing Art and Institute of Texan Cultures.
I’ve been selected as the 2023 Artist of the Year by the San Antonio Art League and Museum.