Ala Ebtekar’s work can be characterised by the phrase ‘shedding light’. The media employed by Ebtekar is varied, with the artist working in photography, drawing, collage, painting, ceramics, text and installation. His practice extends even further to bookmaking, the illumination of manuscripts, and Iranian coffeehouse painting.  Ebtekar investigates and interprets the possibilities of the universe and cosmology and is interested in notions of time and space that extend beyond the human experience and timeline, such as cosmic travel, and understanding and rearticulating the phenomenology of light. Not only does Ebtekar examine the concept of light, but he also uses it as medium. He considers celestial bodies as his collaborators, using UV-light from the sun, as well as moonlight and starlight, creating images from nightlong, durational exposures. Through the process of looking outward, the artist questions contemporary moments’ importance, or non-importance, within the vast context of the universe.  

The Third Line

San Francisco

Tehrān

Berkeley

New York City

Art New York

Dubai

Tunis

Selma Feriani

Anglim Gilbert Gallery

Los Angeles

Charlie James Gallery

Sharjah

Maraya Art Centre

Asian Art Museum

Napa

Di Rosa

Laguna Beach

Laguna Art Museum

Yerba Buena Center For The Arts

Karlsruhe

The Zkm

De Young Museum

Berkeley Art Museum

Ala Ebtekar

Santa Monica

18Th Street Art Center

Paris

Cité Internationale Des Arts

University Of California Berkeley

Stanford-le-Hope

Stanford University

Untitled (Manuscript 1705)

Nightfall (After Asimov & Emerson) (8)

Untitled (Manuscript 18)

Night Journey 2