Born in 1988 in Iran, Arash Ghahari Kermani is a Dallas-based visual artist. He has earned a BA in Sculpture from Hacettepe University in Turkey and an MFA in Studio Arts from West Texas A&M University. Ghahari has exhibited internationally and taught at various institutions, including West Texas A&M University, Amarillo College, Jinan University in China, and the University of Texas at Dallas. His figurative sculptures arise from a philosophical inquiry into our postmodern condition, where human existence becomes increasingly simplified and regulated by systems of control, reduction, and technological efficiency. Through these sculptures and installations, Ghahari creates grotesque, humanoid forms—distorted, overturned, decaying, and trapped bodies within literal frames and cages—that serve as material symbols of our modern ontological crisis. He refers to this approach as grotesque enframing™: a concept that reinterprets Martin Heidegger’s critique of modern technology (Gestell) through the lens of grotesque aesthetics. While Heidegger viewed technology as a powerful force that reduces beings to an existential reserve, Ghahari uses the grotesque to disrupt this reductionist framework. In his work, bodily excess, deformation, and symbolic inversion create a space for complexity, ambiguity, and resistance. These figures inhabit liminal, dream-like realms—echoing the Renaissance painters’ sogni dei pittori (space of dreams). Inverted figures and hybrid half-man, half-beast forms challenge traditional categories, inviting viewers into space frames (at times literally) where the grotesque is not just abject but also revelatory. Pain, death, and degradation are shown not as negative endpoints but as essential, creative states.
Currently, Ghahari is a PhD candidate at UT Dallas, focusing his dissertation on grotesque aesthetics in Iranian and Western visual arts.
EDUCATION
PhD Candidate in Visual and Performing Arts (Ongoing- to be finished in October 2025)
University of Texas at Dallas, Department of Arts and Humanities, Dallas, Texas, USA
Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art
West Texas A&M University, Department of Art, Theatre and Dance, Canyon, Texas, USA (2013–2017)
Bachelor of Arts in Sculpture
Hacettepe University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Ankara, Turkey (2005–2010)
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2025 – Teaching Associate: Instructor of Introduction to Sculpture (Studio Art), University of Texas at Dallas
2025 – Instructor of Record: Art History Survey II and Drawing, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China – International Summer Online Session
2024 – Instructor of Record: Art History Survey II and Drawing, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China – International Summer Online Session
2022 – Instructor of Record: Art History Survey II and Drawing, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China – International Summer Online Session
2021 – Instructor of Record: Art History Survey II and Drawing, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China – International Summer Online Session
2018 – Instructor of Art History Survey II, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China – International Summer Session (in person)
2018 – Instructor of Drawing, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China – International Summer Session (in person)
Adjunct Faculty / Instructor of Record
2017 – Design, Amarillo College, School of Creative Arts
2017 – Painting, Amarillo College Continued Ed. Summer Classes
2017 – Art Appreciation, Amarillo College, School of Creative Arts
2016 – Art Appreciation, Amarillo College, School of Creative Arts
TEACHING ASSISTANT
2024 – Teaching Assistant: Understanding Art, University of Texas at Dallas
2024 – Teaching Assistant: Survey of Western Art History: Ancient to Medieval, University of Texas at Dallas,
2021 – Teaching Assistant: Introduction to Philosophy, University of Texas at Dallas
2020 – Teaching Assistant: Introduction to Philosophy, University of Texas at Dallas
2023 – Teaching Assistant: Exploration of the Arts, University of Texas at Dallas,
2023 – Teaching Assistant: Sustainable Arts, University of Texas at Dallas,
2022 – Teaching Assistant: Art History Survey II, University of Texas at Dallas,
Graduate Assistant
2017 – 3D Art, West Texas A&M University
2016 – 3D Art, West Texas A&M University
2016 – Art History TA and Gallery Manager, West Texas A&M University
2015 – Art History TA and Gallery Manager, West Texas A&M University
Art Gallery Manager
2014 – Gallery Manager, Dord Fitz Formal Gallery, West Texas A&M University, Canyon, TX.
Studio Assistant
2006–2007 Prof. Ayhan Yilmaz (Assistant of Sculpture and Mold Making), Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
2005–2006 Studio Assistant, Artosfer Art School, Ankara, Turkey.
2025 – (Upcoming October 25th): The Grotesque Enframing, Dasha Board Gallery, Dallas, Texas
2017 – Analogy, Dord Fitz Gallery, Canyon, Texas
2016 – Inverse, Urbana Café, Amarillo, Texas
2015 – Mirroring The Contemporary, Experimental Gallery at the Sunset Center, Amarillo, Texas, USA, Curated by John Revett
2012 – Postmodern Stylization, Galeri Artist LAB, Ankara, Turkey
2011 – Postmodern Stereotypical, Galeri Artist LAB, Istanbul, Turkey
2010 – Resa (The Black Sheep) Galeri Artist LAB, Ankara, Turkey, Curated by Müzeyyen Çağlar Güler
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES
2025 – Featured artist at Unusual, curated online exhibition at Domio Gallery, London, UK.
2025 – The 2025 ATEC Pop-up Locker Exhibition, UT Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA, Curated by Xtine Burrough.
2025 – Curated Show for the RAW Conference, ATC Gallery, UT Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA, Curated by Mary Takaloo.
2024 – Featured artist in ArtAnkara International Contemporary Art Fair — Ankara, Turkey
2024 – Graduate Student Artists’ Exhibition, Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology, Dallas, TX, USA
2024 – Foreign Affairs Curated Show, SITE131, Dallas, TX, USA, Curated by John Pomara
2020 – Featured work at the Justice Art Exhibit — Group Exhibition, Lubbock, Texas
2024 – WT Alumni Art Show, Dord Fitz Formal Gallery Mary Moody Northern Hall, Canyon, TX, USA
2014 – AC/WT Student and Faculty Show, Amarillo Museum of Art, Amarillo, Texas, USA
2013 – Genç Karma exhibition (Young Artists’ group exhibition), German Embassy, Ankara, Turkey curated by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism
2013/2014 – Featured work at the Sunset Center Mixed Group Show, Amarillo, Texas, USA
2009 – Featured work at the Stone Sculpture Exhibition, Beytepe Campus Art Gallery, Ankara, Turkey
2008 – Center for Contemporary Art Show, Cankaya Municipality, Ankara, Turkey
2008 – Participant at the Austrian Embassy’s Stone Carving Symposium, Workshop, and Exhibition, Ankara, Turkey
2007 – Participant at the Antalya Manavgat Sand Sculpture Symposium And Exhibition, Antalya, Turkey
2005 – Karma Sergisi (group exhibition) at the Baskent University, Curated by Bora Turkkan, Ankara, Turkey
FIELD WORK, ARTISTIC COLLABORATIONS, PUBLIC ART INVOLVEMENTS
2014-2015 – Restoration of Amarillo Ramp by renowned American Land Artist Robert Smithson, collaborated with John Revett, Texas, USA
2014 – Art is Happening (LOL), public art installation, collaborated work with Jon Revett, Canyon, Texas.
CURATOR
Curator, Intro to Sculpture: Bust Exhibition — UT Dallas, ATEC Main Lobby, Dallas, TX
Spring 2025
Curated an end-of-semester exhibition featuring undergraduate student bust sculptures from the Intro to Sculpture course. Oversaw installation, spatial planning, and promotional materials.
PARTICIPATION AS A JUDGE
2025
Juror, Heidi Rae Cooley’s “Intro to TechnoCulture” class (BFA Senior Juried Projects), University of Texas at Dallas — Dallas, TX
Served as a juror in the final project review for undergraduate students, providing critical feedback and evaluating creative and theoretical works.
Juror, Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE) — Texas Art Education Association (High School Level)
2017 – Texas Regional VASE
2019 – Texas State VASE
2021 – Texas Regional VASE
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND PUBLICATIONS
2025 – Featured artist at the Domio Gallery exhibition catalogue, Unusual exhibition, London, UK.
2025 – The West Texan Alumni Magazine, featured artist in WT Art Alumni spotlight Winter 2025 issue, West Texas A&M University, Canyon, Texas
2025 – The Persian Monster: An Analysis of the Grotesque In Iranian Art and Literature, MDPI Journal (peer reviewed) (To be published)
2017 – Ghahari, A. (2017). Analogy (Master’s Thesis, West Texas A&M University). Texas Digital Library.
https://tdl-ir.tdl.org/items/fb2b8622-4fe6-43cc-9c10-d89c9109d585
2024 – Alumni Spotlight, West Texas A&M University, Department of Art, Theatre and Dance, featured artist on the official university website, (under the 2017 tab) https://www.wtamu.edu/academics/college-fine-arts-humanities/department-art-theatre-dance/art/alumni-spotlight.html
2024 – Patron Magazine – “Foreign Affairs,” May 30, 2024, https://patronmagazine.com/site131-transports-audiences-abroad-this-summer/
2024 – MyHighPlains – WT Art Alumni Show Feature, March 27, 2024 https://www.myhighplains.com/news/local-news/west-texas-am-university-art-alumni-to-be-featured-in-first-ever-alumni-art-exhibition/
2024 – Glasstire – Foreign Affairs, June 2024, https://glasstire.com/events/2024/06/17/foreign-affairs/
2016 – The International Lounge, March 3, 2016, https://theinternationallounge.wordpress.com
2012 – Sergi Rehberi – Postmodern Kalipsali, Galeri Artist Istanbul, https://sergirehberi.com/m/sergi_detay.aspx?s_id=3194&t_id=2195&q=Postmodern-Kalipsali–Arash-Ghahari-Sergisi-Galeri-Artist-Istanbul&q1=-Genel-Bilgi
2010 – Ankara Hürriyet Newspaper, featured artist for Resa solo exhibition, Galeri Artist LAB, Ankara, Turkey
PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
2014- Private Collection of Ambassador Eberhard Pohl (Germany)
Sculpture acquired in 2014 during the exhibition at the German Embassy in Ankara, Turkey
2014 – Private Collection of Joe Bill Sherrod, Executive Director/Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Amarillo College, Amarillo, TX
Sculpture acquired
2012 – Private Collection (via Gallery Artist) Istanbul, Turkey
Sculpture acquired
2010 – Private Collection of Kutsal Kaan Bilgin, art collector, Ankara, Turkey,
Sculpture acquired
CONFERENCE AND ARTIST TALK
2025 – Presenter at SECAC (Southeastern College Art Conference) — “The Persian Monster: Grotesque Aesthetics in Iranian Art and Identity”, Ohio, Cincinnati, USA
2025 – Conference Attendee at the E‑Scrap Conference 2025, Grapevine, TX
October 27–29, 2025. Curated by SV Randall, attending sessions focused on e-waste management, electronics recycling, and sustainability initiatives.
2025 – Presenter at the RAW 2025 conference, UT Dallas, Presented “Transcending Monstrosity: Exploring The Grotesque From The Renaissance To Contemporary Art In Iran,” Richardson, TX, USA
2024 – Group Artist Talk for Foreign Affairs, SITE131, Dallas, TX, USA
2017 – Artist’s Talk at the Urbana Café Inverse exhibition, Amarillo, Texas, USA
2016 – Published Interview, The International Lounge, Canyon, Texas, USA
2015 – Artist’s Talk for Mirroring The Contemporary solo show, Experimental Gallery, Sunset Center, Amarillo, TX, USA
SELECTED AWARDS, HONORS & SCHOLARSHIPS
2016 – 1st Place / Best Graduate Work Award at Amarillo Museum of Art, AC/WT Student and Faculty Show, Amarillo Museum of Art, USA
2014 – Selected work at the Genc Karma Exhibition curated by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism; Sculpture collected by German Ambassador Eberhard Pohl; artist was received privately at the embassy and presented with a handwritten note of appreciation, Ankara, Turkey
2014 – Honorable Mention Award, AC/WT Student and Faculty Show, Amarillo Museum of Art, USA
2025 – Selected work and Award Winner at The 2025 ATEC Pop-up Locker Exhibition, UT Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
2025 – Graduate Research Award Spring 2025 Harry W. Bass Jr., UT Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
2022 – Dennis M. Kratz Research Fellowship, University of Texas at Dallas, USA
2021-2023 – Milton “Buff” Morris Scholarship (Opportunity Plan), Canyon, Texas, USA
2020-2025– Research Assistants and Teaching Assistants Tuition Waiver (Ongoing)
2014 – Recognized by German Ambassador Eberhard Pohl during exhibition at the German Embassy, Ankara; sculpture acquired for his private collection and accompanied by a personal reception and handwritten note
2013-2015 – Sybil B. Harrington FAH Scholarship, West Texas A&M University, USA
2005-2009 – Premiership Scholarship (Basbakanlik Bursu), Ankara, Turkey