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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260904T100000
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DTSTAMP:20260819T154423Z
CREATED:20260819T005324Z
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SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Ali Banisadr: Temple of the Mind
DESCRIPTION:Image above:Ali Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, born 1976). Weighing of the heart\, 2023. Oil on linen. 48 x 60 inches (121.92 x 152.4 cm). © Ali Banisadr. \n  \nFriday\, June 26\, 2026–Sunday\, November 8\, 2026 \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFriday\, 10 am–8 pm  (until 9 pm on M&T FIRST FRIDAYS)\n\nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, born 1976). Weighing of the heart\, 2023. Oil on linen. 48 x 60 inches (121.92 x 152.4 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRobert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\n\nImitation is not inspiration\, and inspiration only can give birth to a work of art.\n—Albert Pinkham Ryder\n\nAli Banisadr merges the compositional elements of landscape painting with abstract mark-making to create an altogether new form of figuration. The resulting compositions are a carefully composed bedlam of forms that suggest but ultimately deny any specific narrative. Variously reminiscent of gardens of Eden\, the seasonal genre pictures of Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder\, and Boschian depictions of Hell\, Banisadr’s contemporary abstractions call upon the history of painting. The title of the exhibition\, borrowed from Albert Pinkham Ryder’s enigmatic painting\, The Temple of the Mind\, serves as a conceptual framework for the project\, suggesting a space where perception\, memory\, and imagination converge. While the Romantic painter was admired for his pioneering\, semi-abstract style\, for Banisadr\, Ryder holds a space for contemplation amid rising uncertainties. \nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). Return to Mother\, 2022. Oil on linen. 82 x 180 inches (208.28 x 457.2 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\nGiven his deep interest in art history\, the Buffalo AKG has invited Banisadr to participate in the first-ever artist collection intervention. In addition to the installation in the Hemicycle Gallery\, a focused selection of Banisadr’s work will be installed throughout the Robert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\, among the dreamlike imaginings of the Surrealists and the unbridled energy of the Abstract Expressionists. \nBanisadr reaches across time to draw on a wide range of influences. From art\, history\, literature\, and mythology to music\, film\, and technology\, he thinks of such sources as guiding his hand rather than driving his imagery\, and the powerful microcosms he creates are uniquely his own. Within these layered compositions\, subtle references to current events and the human condition—conflict\, migration\, and collective uncertainty—emerge and dissolve within the flux of his painterly language. Originating from one spontaneous moment to the next\, hidden figures and beguiling narratives reveal themselves to those who slow down in the present moment. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). The Witness\, 2025. Oil on linen. 28 x 36 inches (71.12 x 91.44 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBanisadr’s works often evoke the natural world\, its shifting terrains and elemental forces\, while also suggesting cosmological dimensions that extend beyond the visible. Furthermore\, the artist’s unusual experience as a synesthete—a blending of the senses—also informs his practice. Over the years\, he has learned to allow his unique perceptions to guide his process\, leaning into the ways that color evokes specific sounds of harmony or discord. \nFrancisco de Goya (Spanish\, 1746–1828). Mucho hay que chupar (There is Plenty to Suck) from\, “Los Caprichos\,” 1799. Etching with aquatint. image area: 8 1/8 x 5 inches (20.64 x 12.7 cm); sheet: 11 1/2 x 8 1/8 inches (29.21 x 20.64 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Frederic P. Norton\, 1999 (P1999:6.209).\nThe presentation in the Hemicycle Gallery will also feature an installation that delves deeply into the artist’s influences and process through materials from his studio and an artist-curated selection of works from the museum’s collection. From Andō Hiroshige’s evocative woodcuts and Francisco de Goya’s intense\, sometimes nightmarish\, depictions of violence and superstition to the artist’s sketchbooks and other visual cues\, visitors are invited to immerse themselves in Banisadr’s curious\, fantastical world. \nThe exhibition will be accompanied by an audio journey voiced by Banisadr and will debut a new etching created with the team at Mirabo Press in Buffalo\, New York. A short-documentary film on the artist is also in development. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr: Temple of the Mind is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and co-curated by the artist and Godin-Spaulding Senior Curator for the Collection\, Holly E. Hughes.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-ali-banisadr-temple-of-the-mind-2/2026-09-04/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260904T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260904T200000
DTSTAMP:20260819T015228Z
CREATED:20260819T015228Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T015228Z
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SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Natvar Bhavsar: 'Free Yourself'
DESCRIPTION:Image above: Natvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). REETVA\, 1968. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, acrylic medium on rag paper. 35 x 46 inches (89 x 117 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist.  \n  \nOn view August 21\, 2026 through April 4\, 2027. Surveys fifty years of Natvar Bhavsar’s expressive color-field abstractions made from pure dry pigment\, presented simultaneously with the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Debuts the museum’s two new acquisitions\, RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \n\n\n\n\n\nM&T Bank Gallery\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSeymour H. Knox Building\n“I have tried to convey how to free oneself\, using color as a force to reach towards the beauty and generosity of the material that allows you unlimited expression.”  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). KE-RAA\, 1971. Pure pigment on canvas. 87 x 71 inches (221 x 180 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Natvar Bhavsar and Janet Bhavsar\, 2025. © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Photo: Thomas Müller \nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself surveys fifty years of the artist’s expressive abstractions\, inviting viewers to meditate on the power of pure color. Simultaneously presented at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries\, the exhibitions respectively feature works on paper and monumental paintings spanning each decade of his career. This exhibition also celebrates the debut of the AKG’s two acquisitions by the artist RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \nBhavsar’s unique physical process centers on tiny particles of pure\, dry pigment. He begins by soaking the entire canvas in a clear acrylic binder\, then sifts or brushes pigment through handmade tools and fine mesh screens\, building up to eighty sealed layers. Air currents\, breath\, and the rhythm of his body as he maneuvers around the surface help shape the final image—a carefully controlled dance that produces textured\, smoky surfaces with subtle shifts in color and tone. As Bhavsar describes: \n\n“When I enter my studio\, everything disappears. It’s like I’ve entered another world. I experience Nirvana. It’s an incredible gift in which I disappear\, the studio itself disappears\, New York disappears.”\n\n  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). VAROONA II\, 1988. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, and acrylic medium on rag paper. 49 x 39 inches (125 x 99 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist. \nExamined up close\, his dappled surfaces are palpable; from a distance\, the color fields float and become atmospheric. Some paintings burst with energy\, while others suggest a boundless continuum of color. Unlike other Abstract Expressionists\, who approached the sublime through solemnity\, Bhavsar’s path is ecstatic and celebratory and rooted in his Indian heritage. His work invokes Holi\, the Hindu Spring festival in which revelers douse one another in powdered colors to celebrate the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Later works introducing curlicues draw on rangoli—decorative floor patterns of colored powder made during Diwali\, the festival of light. \nBhavsar’s meditative practice results in an intensely personal experience that invites endless free association—whether you find yourself peering through a microscope\, wandering a Holi celebration\, or gazing from the Hubble telescope is left entirely to you. \n  \n  \n  \n\nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Its presentation in Buffalo is organized by Katie O’Hara\, Assistant Curator\, Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, and its presentation at the University at Buffalo Art Galleries is organized by Robert Scalise\, Director\, University at Buffalo Art Galleries.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-natvar-bhavsar-free-yourself-2/2026-09-04/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
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END:VEVENT
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260905T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260905T180000
DTSTAMP:20260819T154415Z
CREATED:20260819T005516Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T154415Z
UID:10045002-1788602400-1788631200@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Ali Banisadr: Temple of the Mind
DESCRIPTION:Image above:Ali Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, born 1976). Weighing of the heart\, 2023. Oil on linen. 48 x 60 inches (121.92 x 152.4 cm). © Ali Banisadr. \n  \nFriday\, June 26\, 2026–Sunday\, November 8\, 2026abstract\, Contemporary Painting\, painting \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRobert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\n\nImitation is not inspiration\, and inspiration only can give birth to a work of art.\n—Albert Pinkham Ryder\n\nAli Banisadr merges the compositional elements of landscape painting with abstract mark-making to create an altogether new form of figuration. The resulting compositions are a carefully composed bedlam of forms that suggest but ultimately deny any specific narrative. Variously reminiscent of gardens of Eden\, the seasonal genre pictures of Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder\, and Boschian depictions of Hell\, Banisadr’s contemporary abstractions call upon the history of painting. The title of the exhibition\, borrowed from Albert Pinkham Ryder’s enigmatic painting\, The Temple of the Mind\, serves as a conceptual framework for the project\, suggesting a space where perception\, memory\, and imagination converge. While the Romantic painter was admired for his pioneering\, semi-abstract style\, for Banisadr\, Ryder holds a space for contemplation amid rising uncertainties. \nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). Return to Mother\, 2022. Oil on linen. 82 x 180 inches (208.28 x 457.2 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\nGiven his deep interest in art history\, the Buffalo AKG has invited Banisadr to participate in the first-ever artist collection intervention. In addition to the installation in the Hemicycle Gallery\, a focused selection of Banisadr’s work will be installed throughout the Robert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\, among the dreamlike imaginings of the Surrealists and the unbridled energy of the Abstract Expressionists. \nBanisadr reaches across time to draw on a wide range of influences. From art\, history\, literature\, and mythology to music\, film\, and technology\, he thinks of such sources as guiding his hand rather than driving his imagery\, and the powerful microcosms he creates are uniquely his own. Within these layered compositions\, subtle references to current events and the human condition—conflict\, migration\, and collective uncertainty—emerge and dissolve within the flux of his painterly language. Originating from one spontaneous moment to the next\, hidden figures and beguiling narratives reveal themselves to those who slow down in the present moment. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). The Witness\, 2025. Oil on linen. 28 x 36 inches (71.12 x 91.44 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBanisadr’s works often evoke the natural world\, its shifting terrains and elemental forces\, while also suggesting cosmological dimensions that extend beyond the visible. Furthermore\, the artist’s unusual experience as a synesthete—a blending of the senses—also informs his practice. Over the years\, he has learned to allow his unique perceptions to guide his process\, leaning into the ways that color evokes specific sounds of harmony or discord. \nFrancisco de Goya (Spanish\, 1746–1828). Mucho hay que chupar (There is Plenty to Suck) from\, “Los Caprichos\,” 1799. Etching with aquatint. image area: 8 1/8 x 5 inches (20.64 x 12.7 cm); sheet: 11 1/2 x 8 1/8 inches (29.21 x 20.64 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Frederic P. Norton\, 1999 (P1999:6.209).\nThe presentation in the Hemicycle Gallery will also feature an installation that delves deeply into the artist’s influences and process through materials from his studio and an artist-curated selection of works from the museum’s collection. From Andō Hiroshige’s evocative woodcuts and Francisco de Goya’s intense\, sometimes nightmarish\, depictions of violence and superstition to the artist’s sketchbooks and other visual cues\, visitors are invited to immerse themselves in Banisadr’s curious\, fantastical world. \nThe exhibition will be accompanied by an audio journey voiced by Banisadr and will debut a new etching created with the team at Mirabo Press in Buffalo\, New York. A short-documentary film on the artist is also in development. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr: Temple of the Mind is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and co-curated by the artist and Godin-Spaulding Senior Curator for the Collection\, Holly E. Hughes.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-ali-banisadr-temple-of-the-mind-3/2026-09-05/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260906T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260906T170000
DTSTAMP:20260819T154435Z
CREATED:20260819T004950Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T154435Z
UID:10045719-1788688800-1788714000@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Ali Banisadr: Temple of the Mind
DESCRIPTION:Image above:Ali Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, born 1976). Weighing of the heart\, 2023. Oil on linen. 48 x 60 inches (121.92 x 152.4 cm). © Ali Banisadr. \nFriday\, June 26\, 2026–Sunday\, November 8\, 2026 \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRobert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\n\nImitation is not inspiration\, and inspiration only can give birth to a work of art.\n—Albert Pinkham Ryder\n\nAli Banisadr merges the compositional elements of landscape painting with abstract mark-making to create an altogether new form of figuration. The resulting compositions are a carefully composed bedlam of forms that suggest but ultimately deny any specific narrative. Variously reminiscent of gardens of Eden\, the seasonal genre pictures of Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder\, and Boschian depictions of Hell\, Banisadr’s contemporary abstractions call upon the history of painting. The title of the exhibition\, borrowed from Albert Pinkham Ryder’s enigmatic painting\, The Temple of the Mind\, serves as a conceptual framework for the project\, suggesting a space where perception\, memory\, and imagination converge. While the Romantic painter was admired for his pioneering\, semi-abstract style\, for Banisadr\, Ryder holds a space for contemplation amid rising uncertainties. \nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). Return to Mother\, 2022. Oil on linen. 82 x 180 inches (208.28 x 457.2 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\nGiven his deep interest in art history\, the Buffalo AKG has invited Banisadr to participate in the first-ever artist collection intervention. In addition to the installation in the Hemicycle Gallery\, a focused selection of Banisadr’s work will be installed throughout the Robert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\, among the dreamlike imaginings of the Surrealists and the unbridled energy of the Abstract Expressionists. \nBanisadr reaches across time to draw on a wide range of influences. From art\, history\, literature\, and mythology to music\, film\, and technology\, he thinks of such sources as guiding his hand rather than driving his imagery\, and the powerful microcosms he creates are uniquely his own. Within these layered compositions\, subtle references to current events and the human condition—conflict\, migration\, and collective uncertainty—emerge and dissolve within the flux of his painterly language. Originating from one spontaneous moment to the next\, hidden figures and beguiling narratives reveal themselves to those who slow down in the present moment. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). The Witness\, 2025. Oil on linen. 28 x 36 inches (71.12 x 91.44 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBanisadr’s works often evoke the natural world\, its shifting terrains and elemental forces\, while also suggesting cosmological dimensions that extend beyond the visible. Furthermore\, the artist’s unusual experience as a synesthete—a blending of the senses—also informs his practice. Over the years\, he has learned to allow his unique perceptions to guide his process\, leaning into the ways that color evokes specific sounds of harmony or discord. \nFrancisco de Goya (Spanish\, 1746–1828). Mucho hay que chupar (There is Plenty to Suck) from\, “Los Caprichos\,” 1799. Etching with aquatint. image area: 8 1/8 x 5 inches (20.64 x 12.7 cm); sheet: 11 1/2 x 8 1/8 inches (29.21 x 20.64 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Frederic P. Norton\, 1999 (P1999:6.209).\nThe presentation in the Hemicycle Gallery will also feature an installation that delves deeply into the artist’s influences and process through materials from his studio and an artist-curated selection of works from the museum’s collection. From Andō Hiroshige’s evocative woodcuts and Francisco de Goya’s intense\, sometimes nightmarish\, depictions of violence and superstition to the artist’s sketchbooks and other visual cues\, visitors are invited to immerse themselves in Banisadr’s curious\, fantastical world. \nThe exhibition will be accompanied by an audio journey voiced by Banisadr and will debut a new etching created with the team at Mirabo Press in Buffalo\, New York. A short-documentary film on the artist is also in development. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr: Temple of the Mind is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and co-curated by the artist and Godin-Spaulding Senior Curator for the Collection\, Holly E. Hughes.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-ali-banisadr-temple-of-the-mind/2026-09-06/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260906T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260906T170000
DTSTAMP:20260819T014754Z
CREATED:20260819T014754Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T014754Z
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SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Natvar Bhavsar: 'Free Yourself'
DESCRIPTION:Image above: Natvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). REETVA\, 1968. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, acrylic medium on rag paper. 35 x 46 inches (89 x 117 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist.  \n  \nOn view August 21\, 2026 through April 4\, 2027. Surveys fifty years of Natvar Bhavsar’s expressive color-field abstractions made from pure dry pigment\, presented simultaneously with the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Debuts the museum’s two new acquisitions\, RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \n\n\n\n\n\nM&T Bank Gallery \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSeymour H. Knox Building\n“I have tried to convey how to free oneself\, using color as a force to reach towards the beauty and generosity of the material that allows you unlimited expression.”  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). KE-RAA\, 1971. Pure pigment on canvas. 87 x 71 inches (221 x 180 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Natvar Bhavsar and Janet Bhavsar\, 2025. © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Photo: Thomas Müller \nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself surveys fifty years of the artist’s expressive abstractions\, inviting viewers to meditate on the power of pure color. Simultaneously presented at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries\, the exhibitions respectively feature works on paper and monumental paintings spanning each decade of his career. This exhibition also celebrates the debut of the AKG’s two acquisitions by the artist RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \nBhavsar’s unique physical process centers on tiny particles of pure\, dry pigment. He begins by soaking the entire canvas in a clear acrylic binder\, then sifts or brushes pigment through handmade tools and fine mesh screens\, building up to eighty sealed layers. Air currents\, breath\, and the rhythm of his body as he maneuvers around the surface help shape the final image—a carefully controlled dance that produces textured\, smoky surfaces with subtle shifts in color and tone. As Bhavsar describes: \n\n“When I enter my studio\, everything disappears. It’s like I’ve entered another world. I experience Nirvana. It’s an incredible gift in which I disappear\, the studio itself disappears\, New York disappears.”\n\n  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). VAROONA II\, 1988. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, and acrylic medium on rag paper. 49 x 39 inches (125 x 99 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist. \nExamined up close\, his dappled surfaces are palpable; from a distance\, the color fields float and become atmospheric. Some paintings burst with energy\, while others suggest a boundless continuum of color. Unlike other Abstract Expressionists\, who approached the sublime through solemnity\, Bhavsar’s path is ecstatic and celebratory and rooted in his Indian heritage. His work invokes Holi\, the Hindu Spring festival in which revelers douse one another in powdered colors to celebrate the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Later works introducing curlicues draw on rangoli—decorative floor patterns of colored powder made during Diwali\, the festival of light. \nBhavsar’s meditative practice results in an intensely personal experience that invites endless free association—whether you find yourself peering through a microscope\, wandering a Holi celebration\, or gazing from the Hubble telescope is left entirely to you. \n  \n  \n  \n\nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Its presentation in Buffalo is organized by Katie O’Hara\, Assistant Curator\, Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, and its presentation at the University at Buffalo Art Galleries is organized by Robert Scalise\, Director\, University at Buffalo Art Galleries.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-natvar-bhavsar-free-yourself/2026-09-06/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thebuffalohive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/exh5081_natvarbhavsar.jpeg
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260906T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260906T180000
DTSTAMP:20260819T015932Z
CREATED:20260819T015932Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T015932Z
UID:10045622-1788688800-1788717600@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Natvar Bhavsar: 'Free Yourself'
DESCRIPTION:Image above: Natvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). REETVA\, 1968. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, acrylic medium on rag paper. 35 x 46 inches (89 x 117 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist.  \n  \nOn view August 21\, 2026 through April 4\, 2027. Surveys fifty years of Natvar Bhavsar’s expressive color-field abstractions made from pure dry pigment\, presented simultaneously with the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Debuts the museum’s two new acquisitions\, RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \n\n\n\n\n\nM&T Bank Gallery\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSeymour H. Knox Building\n“I have tried to convey how to free oneself\, using color as a force to reach towards the beauty and generosity of the material that allows you unlimited expression.”  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). KE-RAA\, 1971. Pure pigment on canvas. 87 x 71 inches (221 x 180 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Natvar Bhavsar and Janet Bhavsar\, 2025. © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Photo: Thomas Müller \nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself surveys fifty years of the artist’s expressive abstractions\, inviting viewers to meditate on the power of pure color. Simultaneously presented at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries\, the exhibitions respectively feature works on paper and monumental paintings spanning each decade of his career. This exhibition also celebrates the debut of the AKG’s two acquisitions by the artist RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \nBhavsar’s unique physical process centers on tiny particles of pure\, dry pigment. He begins by soaking the entire canvas in a clear acrylic binder\, then sifts or brushes pigment through handmade tools and fine mesh screens\, building up to eighty sealed layers. Air currents\, breath\, and the rhythm of his body as he maneuvers around the surface help shape the final image—a carefully controlled dance that produces textured\, smoky surfaces with subtle shifts in color and tone. As Bhavsar describes: \n\n“When I enter my studio\, everything disappears. It’s like I’ve entered another world. I experience Nirvana. It’s an incredible gift in which I disappear\, the studio itself disappears\, New York disappears.”\n\n  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). VAROONA II\, 1988. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, and acrylic medium on rag paper. 49 x 39 inches (125 x 99 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist. \nExamined up close\, his dappled surfaces are palpable; from a distance\, the color fields float and become atmospheric. Some paintings burst with energy\, while others suggest a boundless continuum of color. Unlike other Abstract Expressionists\, who approached the sublime through solemnity\, Bhavsar’s path is ecstatic and celebratory and rooted in his Indian heritage. His work invokes Holi\, the Hindu Spring festival in which revelers douse one another in powdered colors to celebrate the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Later works introducing curlicues draw on rangoli—decorative floor patterns of colored powder made during Diwali\, the festival of light. \nBhavsar’s meditative practice results in an intensely personal experience that invites endless free association—whether you find yourself peering through a microscope\, wandering a Holi celebration\, or gazing from the Hubble telescope is left entirely to you. \n  \n  \n  \n\nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Its presentation in Buffalo is organized by Katie O’Hara\, Assistant Curator\, Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, and its presentation at the University at Buffalo Art Galleries is organized by Robert Scalise\, Director\, University at Buffalo Art Galleries.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-natvar-bhavsar-free-yourself-3/2026-09-06/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260907T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260907T170000
DTSTAMP:20260819T154435Z
CREATED:20260819T004950Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T154435Z
UID:10045720-1788775200-1788800400@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Ali Banisadr: Temple of the Mind
DESCRIPTION:Image above:Ali Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, born 1976). Weighing of the heart\, 2023. Oil on linen. 48 x 60 inches (121.92 x 152.4 cm). © Ali Banisadr. \nFriday\, June 26\, 2026–Sunday\, November 8\, 2026 \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRobert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\n\nImitation is not inspiration\, and inspiration only can give birth to a work of art.\n—Albert Pinkham Ryder\n\nAli Banisadr merges the compositional elements of landscape painting with abstract mark-making to create an altogether new form of figuration. The resulting compositions are a carefully composed bedlam of forms that suggest but ultimately deny any specific narrative. Variously reminiscent of gardens of Eden\, the seasonal genre pictures of Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder\, and Boschian depictions of Hell\, Banisadr’s contemporary abstractions call upon the history of painting. The title of the exhibition\, borrowed from Albert Pinkham Ryder’s enigmatic painting\, The Temple of the Mind\, serves as a conceptual framework for the project\, suggesting a space where perception\, memory\, and imagination converge. While the Romantic painter was admired for his pioneering\, semi-abstract style\, for Banisadr\, Ryder holds a space for contemplation amid rising uncertainties. \nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). Return to Mother\, 2022. Oil on linen. 82 x 180 inches (208.28 x 457.2 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\nGiven his deep interest in art history\, the Buffalo AKG has invited Banisadr to participate in the first-ever artist collection intervention. In addition to the installation in the Hemicycle Gallery\, a focused selection of Banisadr’s work will be installed throughout the Robert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\, among the dreamlike imaginings of the Surrealists and the unbridled energy of the Abstract Expressionists. \nBanisadr reaches across time to draw on a wide range of influences. From art\, history\, literature\, and mythology to music\, film\, and technology\, he thinks of such sources as guiding his hand rather than driving his imagery\, and the powerful microcosms he creates are uniquely his own. Within these layered compositions\, subtle references to current events and the human condition—conflict\, migration\, and collective uncertainty—emerge and dissolve within the flux of his painterly language. Originating from one spontaneous moment to the next\, hidden figures and beguiling narratives reveal themselves to those who slow down in the present moment. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). The Witness\, 2025. Oil on linen. 28 x 36 inches (71.12 x 91.44 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBanisadr’s works often evoke the natural world\, its shifting terrains and elemental forces\, while also suggesting cosmological dimensions that extend beyond the visible. Furthermore\, the artist’s unusual experience as a synesthete—a blending of the senses—also informs his practice. Over the years\, he has learned to allow his unique perceptions to guide his process\, leaning into the ways that color evokes specific sounds of harmony or discord. \nFrancisco de Goya (Spanish\, 1746–1828). Mucho hay que chupar (There is Plenty to Suck) from\, “Los Caprichos\,” 1799. Etching with aquatint. image area: 8 1/8 x 5 inches (20.64 x 12.7 cm); sheet: 11 1/2 x 8 1/8 inches (29.21 x 20.64 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Frederic P. Norton\, 1999 (P1999:6.209).\nThe presentation in the Hemicycle Gallery will also feature an installation that delves deeply into the artist’s influences and process through materials from his studio and an artist-curated selection of works from the museum’s collection. From Andō Hiroshige’s evocative woodcuts and Francisco de Goya’s intense\, sometimes nightmarish\, depictions of violence and superstition to the artist’s sketchbooks and other visual cues\, visitors are invited to immerse themselves in Banisadr’s curious\, fantastical world. \nThe exhibition will be accompanied by an audio journey voiced by Banisadr and will debut a new etching created with the team at Mirabo Press in Buffalo\, New York. A short-documentary film on the artist is also in development. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr: Temple of the Mind is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and co-curated by the artist and Godin-Spaulding Senior Curator for the Collection\, Holly E. Hughes.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-ali-banisadr-temple-of-the-mind/2026-09-07/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thebuffalohive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/exh5129-alibanisadr_edgeless.jpeg
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260907T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260907T170000
DTSTAMP:20260819T014754Z
CREATED:20260819T014754Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T014754Z
UID:10045396-1788775200-1788800400@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Natvar Bhavsar: 'Free Yourself'
DESCRIPTION:Image above: Natvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). REETVA\, 1968. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, acrylic medium on rag paper. 35 x 46 inches (89 x 117 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist.  \n  \nOn view August 21\, 2026 through April 4\, 2027. Surveys fifty years of Natvar Bhavsar’s expressive color-field abstractions made from pure dry pigment\, presented simultaneously with the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Debuts the museum’s two new acquisitions\, RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \n\n\n\n\n\nM&T Bank Gallery \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSeymour H. Knox Building\n“I have tried to convey how to free oneself\, using color as a force to reach towards the beauty and generosity of the material that allows you unlimited expression.”  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). KE-RAA\, 1971. Pure pigment on canvas. 87 x 71 inches (221 x 180 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Natvar Bhavsar and Janet Bhavsar\, 2025. © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Photo: Thomas Müller \nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself surveys fifty years of the artist’s expressive abstractions\, inviting viewers to meditate on the power of pure color. Simultaneously presented at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries\, the exhibitions respectively feature works on paper and monumental paintings spanning each decade of his career. This exhibition also celebrates the debut of the AKG’s two acquisitions by the artist RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \nBhavsar’s unique physical process centers on tiny particles of pure\, dry pigment. He begins by soaking the entire canvas in a clear acrylic binder\, then sifts or brushes pigment through handmade tools and fine mesh screens\, building up to eighty sealed layers. Air currents\, breath\, and the rhythm of his body as he maneuvers around the surface help shape the final image—a carefully controlled dance that produces textured\, smoky surfaces with subtle shifts in color and tone. As Bhavsar describes: \n\n“When I enter my studio\, everything disappears. It’s like I’ve entered another world. I experience Nirvana. It’s an incredible gift in which I disappear\, the studio itself disappears\, New York disappears.”\n\n  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). VAROONA II\, 1988. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, and acrylic medium on rag paper. 49 x 39 inches (125 x 99 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist. \nExamined up close\, his dappled surfaces are palpable; from a distance\, the color fields float and become atmospheric. Some paintings burst with energy\, while others suggest a boundless continuum of color. Unlike other Abstract Expressionists\, who approached the sublime through solemnity\, Bhavsar’s path is ecstatic and celebratory and rooted in his Indian heritage. His work invokes Holi\, the Hindu Spring festival in which revelers douse one another in powdered colors to celebrate the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Later works introducing curlicues draw on rangoli—decorative floor patterns of colored powder made during Diwali\, the festival of light. \nBhavsar’s meditative practice results in an intensely personal experience that invites endless free association—whether you find yourself peering through a microscope\, wandering a Holi celebration\, or gazing from the Hubble telescope is left entirely to you. \n  \n  \n  \n\nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Its presentation in Buffalo is organized by Katie O’Hara\, Assistant Curator\, Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, and its presentation at the University at Buffalo Art Galleries is organized by Robert Scalise\, Director\, University at Buffalo Art Galleries.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-natvar-bhavsar-free-yourself/2026-09-07/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thebuffalohive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/exh5081_natvarbhavsar.jpeg
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260907T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260907T180000
DTSTAMP:20260819T015932Z
CREATED:20260819T015932Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T015932Z
UID:10045623-1788775200-1788804000@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Natvar Bhavsar: 'Free Yourself'
DESCRIPTION:Image above: Natvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). REETVA\, 1968. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, acrylic medium on rag paper. 35 x 46 inches (89 x 117 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist.  \n  \nOn view August 21\, 2026 through April 4\, 2027. Surveys fifty years of Natvar Bhavsar’s expressive color-field abstractions made from pure dry pigment\, presented simultaneously with the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Debuts the museum’s two new acquisitions\, RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \n\n\n\n\n\nM&T Bank Gallery\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSeymour H. Knox Building\n“I have tried to convey how to free oneself\, using color as a force to reach towards the beauty and generosity of the material that allows you unlimited expression.”  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). KE-RAA\, 1971. Pure pigment on canvas. 87 x 71 inches (221 x 180 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Natvar Bhavsar and Janet Bhavsar\, 2025. © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Photo: Thomas Müller \nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself surveys fifty years of the artist’s expressive abstractions\, inviting viewers to meditate on the power of pure color. Simultaneously presented at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries\, the exhibitions respectively feature works on paper and monumental paintings spanning each decade of his career. This exhibition also celebrates the debut of the AKG’s two acquisitions by the artist RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \nBhavsar’s unique physical process centers on tiny particles of pure\, dry pigment. He begins by soaking the entire canvas in a clear acrylic binder\, then sifts or brushes pigment through handmade tools and fine mesh screens\, building up to eighty sealed layers. Air currents\, breath\, and the rhythm of his body as he maneuvers around the surface help shape the final image—a carefully controlled dance that produces textured\, smoky surfaces with subtle shifts in color and tone. As Bhavsar describes: \n\n“When I enter my studio\, everything disappears. It’s like I’ve entered another world. I experience Nirvana. It’s an incredible gift in which I disappear\, the studio itself disappears\, New York disappears.”\n\n  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). VAROONA II\, 1988. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, and acrylic medium on rag paper. 49 x 39 inches (125 x 99 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist. \nExamined up close\, his dappled surfaces are palpable; from a distance\, the color fields float and become atmospheric. Some paintings burst with energy\, while others suggest a boundless continuum of color. Unlike other Abstract Expressionists\, who approached the sublime through solemnity\, Bhavsar’s path is ecstatic and celebratory and rooted in his Indian heritage. His work invokes Holi\, the Hindu Spring festival in which revelers douse one another in powdered colors to celebrate the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Later works introducing curlicues draw on rangoli—decorative floor patterns of colored powder made during Diwali\, the festival of light. \nBhavsar’s meditative practice results in an intensely personal experience that invites endless free association—whether you find yourself peering through a microscope\, wandering a Holi celebration\, or gazing from the Hubble telescope is left entirely to you. \n  \n  \n  \n\nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Its presentation in Buffalo is organized by Katie O’Hara\, Assistant Curator\, Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, and its presentation at the University at Buffalo Art Galleries is organized by Robert Scalise\, Director\, University at Buffalo Art Galleries.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-natvar-bhavsar-free-yourself-3/2026-09-07/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thebuffalohive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/exh5081_natvarbhavsar.jpeg
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260910T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260910T170000
DTSTAMP:20260819T154435Z
CREATED:20260819T004950Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T154435Z
UID:10045721-1789034400-1789059600@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Ali Banisadr: Temple of the Mind
DESCRIPTION:Image above:Ali Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, born 1976). Weighing of the heart\, 2023. Oil on linen. 48 x 60 inches (121.92 x 152.4 cm). © Ali Banisadr. \nFriday\, June 26\, 2026–Sunday\, November 8\, 2026 \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRobert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\n\nImitation is not inspiration\, and inspiration only can give birth to a work of art.\n—Albert Pinkham Ryder\n\nAli Banisadr merges the compositional elements of landscape painting with abstract mark-making to create an altogether new form of figuration. The resulting compositions are a carefully composed bedlam of forms that suggest but ultimately deny any specific narrative. Variously reminiscent of gardens of Eden\, the seasonal genre pictures of Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder\, and Boschian depictions of Hell\, Banisadr’s contemporary abstractions call upon the history of painting. The title of the exhibition\, borrowed from Albert Pinkham Ryder’s enigmatic painting\, The Temple of the Mind\, serves as a conceptual framework for the project\, suggesting a space where perception\, memory\, and imagination converge. While the Romantic painter was admired for his pioneering\, semi-abstract style\, for Banisadr\, Ryder holds a space for contemplation amid rising uncertainties. \nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). Return to Mother\, 2022. Oil on linen. 82 x 180 inches (208.28 x 457.2 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\nGiven his deep interest in art history\, the Buffalo AKG has invited Banisadr to participate in the first-ever artist collection intervention. In addition to the installation in the Hemicycle Gallery\, a focused selection of Banisadr’s work will be installed throughout the Robert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\, among the dreamlike imaginings of the Surrealists and the unbridled energy of the Abstract Expressionists. \nBanisadr reaches across time to draw on a wide range of influences. From art\, history\, literature\, and mythology to music\, film\, and technology\, he thinks of such sources as guiding his hand rather than driving his imagery\, and the powerful microcosms he creates are uniquely his own. Within these layered compositions\, subtle references to current events and the human condition—conflict\, migration\, and collective uncertainty—emerge and dissolve within the flux of his painterly language. Originating from one spontaneous moment to the next\, hidden figures and beguiling narratives reveal themselves to those who slow down in the present moment. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). The Witness\, 2025. Oil on linen. 28 x 36 inches (71.12 x 91.44 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBanisadr’s works often evoke the natural world\, its shifting terrains and elemental forces\, while also suggesting cosmological dimensions that extend beyond the visible. Furthermore\, the artist’s unusual experience as a synesthete—a blending of the senses—also informs his practice. Over the years\, he has learned to allow his unique perceptions to guide his process\, leaning into the ways that color evokes specific sounds of harmony or discord. \nFrancisco de Goya (Spanish\, 1746–1828). Mucho hay que chupar (There is Plenty to Suck) from\, “Los Caprichos\,” 1799. Etching with aquatint. image area: 8 1/8 x 5 inches (20.64 x 12.7 cm); sheet: 11 1/2 x 8 1/8 inches (29.21 x 20.64 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Frederic P. Norton\, 1999 (P1999:6.209).\nThe presentation in the Hemicycle Gallery will also feature an installation that delves deeply into the artist’s influences and process through materials from his studio and an artist-curated selection of works from the museum’s collection. From Andō Hiroshige’s evocative woodcuts and Francisco de Goya’s intense\, sometimes nightmarish\, depictions of violence and superstition to the artist’s sketchbooks and other visual cues\, visitors are invited to immerse themselves in Banisadr’s curious\, fantastical world. \nThe exhibition will be accompanied by an audio journey voiced by Banisadr and will debut a new etching created with the team at Mirabo Press in Buffalo\, New York. A short-documentary film on the artist is also in development. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr: Temple of the Mind is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and co-curated by the artist and Godin-Spaulding Senior Curator for the Collection\, Holly E. Hughes.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-ali-banisadr-temple-of-the-mind/2026-09-10/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thebuffalohive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/exh5129-alibanisadr_edgeless.jpeg
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260910T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260910T170000
DTSTAMP:20260819T014754Z
CREATED:20260819T014754Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T014754Z
UID:10045397-1789034400-1789059600@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Natvar Bhavsar: 'Free Yourself'
DESCRIPTION:Image above: Natvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). REETVA\, 1968. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, acrylic medium on rag paper. 35 x 46 inches (89 x 117 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist.  \n  \nOn view August 21\, 2026 through April 4\, 2027. Surveys fifty years of Natvar Bhavsar’s expressive color-field abstractions made from pure dry pigment\, presented simultaneously with the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Debuts the museum’s two new acquisitions\, RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \n\n\n\n\n\nM&T Bank Gallery \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSeymour H. Knox Building\n“I have tried to convey how to free oneself\, using color as a force to reach towards the beauty and generosity of the material that allows you unlimited expression.”  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). KE-RAA\, 1971. Pure pigment on canvas. 87 x 71 inches (221 x 180 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Natvar Bhavsar and Janet Bhavsar\, 2025. © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Photo: Thomas Müller \nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself surveys fifty years of the artist’s expressive abstractions\, inviting viewers to meditate on the power of pure color. Simultaneously presented at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries\, the exhibitions respectively feature works on paper and monumental paintings spanning each decade of his career. This exhibition also celebrates the debut of the AKG’s two acquisitions by the artist RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \nBhavsar’s unique physical process centers on tiny particles of pure\, dry pigment. He begins by soaking the entire canvas in a clear acrylic binder\, then sifts or brushes pigment through handmade tools and fine mesh screens\, building up to eighty sealed layers. Air currents\, breath\, and the rhythm of his body as he maneuvers around the surface help shape the final image—a carefully controlled dance that produces textured\, smoky surfaces with subtle shifts in color and tone. As Bhavsar describes: \n\n“When I enter my studio\, everything disappears. It’s like I’ve entered another world. I experience Nirvana. It’s an incredible gift in which I disappear\, the studio itself disappears\, New York disappears.”\n\n  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). VAROONA II\, 1988. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, and acrylic medium on rag paper. 49 x 39 inches (125 x 99 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist. \nExamined up close\, his dappled surfaces are palpable; from a distance\, the color fields float and become atmospheric. Some paintings burst with energy\, while others suggest a boundless continuum of color. Unlike other Abstract Expressionists\, who approached the sublime through solemnity\, Bhavsar’s path is ecstatic and celebratory and rooted in his Indian heritage. His work invokes Holi\, the Hindu Spring festival in which revelers douse one another in powdered colors to celebrate the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Later works introducing curlicues draw on rangoli—decorative floor patterns of colored powder made during Diwali\, the festival of light. \nBhavsar’s meditative practice results in an intensely personal experience that invites endless free association—whether you find yourself peering through a microscope\, wandering a Holi celebration\, or gazing from the Hubble telescope is left entirely to you. \n  \n  \n  \n\nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Its presentation in Buffalo is organized by Katie O’Hara\, Assistant Curator\, Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, and its presentation at the University at Buffalo Art Galleries is organized by Robert Scalise\, Director\, University at Buffalo Art Galleries.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-natvar-bhavsar-free-yourself/2026-09-10/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thebuffalohive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/exh5081_natvarbhavsar.jpeg
ORGANIZER;CN="Buffalo AKG Art Museum":MAILTO:noreply@facebookmail.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260910T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260910T180000
DTSTAMP:20260819T015932Z
CREATED:20260819T015932Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T015932Z
UID:10045624-1789034400-1789063200@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Natvar Bhavsar: 'Free Yourself'
DESCRIPTION:Image above: Natvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). REETVA\, 1968. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, acrylic medium on rag paper. 35 x 46 inches (89 x 117 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist.  \n  \nOn view August 21\, 2026 through April 4\, 2027. Surveys fifty years of Natvar Bhavsar’s expressive color-field abstractions made from pure dry pigment\, presented simultaneously with the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Debuts the museum’s two new acquisitions\, RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \n\n\n\n\n\nM&T Bank Gallery\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSeymour H. Knox Building\n“I have tried to convey how to free oneself\, using color as a force to reach towards the beauty and generosity of the material that allows you unlimited expression.”  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). KE-RAA\, 1971. Pure pigment on canvas. 87 x 71 inches (221 x 180 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Natvar Bhavsar and Janet Bhavsar\, 2025. © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Photo: Thomas Müller \nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself surveys fifty years of the artist’s expressive abstractions\, inviting viewers to meditate on the power of pure color. Simultaneously presented at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries\, the exhibitions respectively feature works on paper and monumental paintings spanning each decade of his career. This exhibition also celebrates the debut of the AKG’s two acquisitions by the artist RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \nBhavsar’s unique physical process centers on tiny particles of pure\, dry pigment. He begins by soaking the entire canvas in a clear acrylic binder\, then sifts or brushes pigment through handmade tools and fine mesh screens\, building up to eighty sealed layers. Air currents\, breath\, and the rhythm of his body as he maneuvers around the surface help shape the final image—a carefully controlled dance that produces textured\, smoky surfaces with subtle shifts in color and tone. As Bhavsar describes: \n\n“When I enter my studio\, everything disappears. It’s like I’ve entered another world. I experience Nirvana. It’s an incredible gift in which I disappear\, the studio itself disappears\, New York disappears.”\n\n  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). VAROONA II\, 1988. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, and acrylic medium on rag paper. 49 x 39 inches (125 x 99 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist. \nExamined up close\, his dappled surfaces are palpable; from a distance\, the color fields float and become atmospheric. Some paintings burst with energy\, while others suggest a boundless continuum of color. Unlike other Abstract Expressionists\, who approached the sublime through solemnity\, Bhavsar’s path is ecstatic and celebratory and rooted in his Indian heritage. His work invokes Holi\, the Hindu Spring festival in which revelers douse one another in powdered colors to celebrate the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Later works introducing curlicues draw on rangoli—decorative floor patterns of colored powder made during Diwali\, the festival of light. \nBhavsar’s meditative practice results in an intensely personal experience that invites endless free association—whether you find yourself peering through a microscope\, wandering a Holi celebration\, or gazing from the Hubble telescope is left entirely to you. \n  \n  \n  \n\nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Its presentation in Buffalo is organized by Katie O’Hara\, Assistant Curator\, Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, and its presentation at the University at Buffalo Art Galleries is organized by Robert Scalise\, Director\, University at Buffalo Art Galleries.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-natvar-bhavsar-free-yourself-3/2026-09-10/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260911T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260911T200000
DTSTAMP:20260819T154423Z
CREATED:20260819T005324Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T154423Z
UID:10044208-1789120800-1789156800@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Ali Banisadr: Temple of the Mind
DESCRIPTION:Image above:Ali Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, born 1976). Weighing of the heart\, 2023. Oil on linen. 48 x 60 inches (121.92 x 152.4 cm). © Ali Banisadr. \n  \nFriday\, June 26\, 2026–Sunday\, November 8\, 2026 \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFriday\, 10 am–8 pm  (until 9 pm on M&T FIRST FRIDAYS)\n\nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, born 1976). Weighing of the heart\, 2023. Oil on linen. 48 x 60 inches (121.92 x 152.4 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRobert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\n\nImitation is not inspiration\, and inspiration only can give birth to a work of art.\n—Albert Pinkham Ryder\n\nAli Banisadr merges the compositional elements of landscape painting with abstract mark-making to create an altogether new form of figuration. The resulting compositions are a carefully composed bedlam of forms that suggest but ultimately deny any specific narrative. Variously reminiscent of gardens of Eden\, the seasonal genre pictures of Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder\, and Boschian depictions of Hell\, Banisadr’s contemporary abstractions call upon the history of painting. The title of the exhibition\, borrowed from Albert Pinkham Ryder’s enigmatic painting\, The Temple of the Mind\, serves as a conceptual framework for the project\, suggesting a space where perception\, memory\, and imagination converge. While the Romantic painter was admired for his pioneering\, semi-abstract style\, for Banisadr\, Ryder holds a space for contemplation amid rising uncertainties. \nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). Return to Mother\, 2022. Oil on linen. 82 x 180 inches (208.28 x 457.2 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\nGiven his deep interest in art history\, the Buffalo AKG has invited Banisadr to participate in the first-ever artist collection intervention. In addition to the installation in the Hemicycle Gallery\, a focused selection of Banisadr’s work will be installed throughout the Robert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\, among the dreamlike imaginings of the Surrealists and the unbridled energy of the Abstract Expressionists. \nBanisadr reaches across time to draw on a wide range of influences. From art\, history\, literature\, and mythology to music\, film\, and technology\, he thinks of such sources as guiding his hand rather than driving his imagery\, and the powerful microcosms he creates are uniquely his own. Within these layered compositions\, subtle references to current events and the human condition—conflict\, migration\, and collective uncertainty—emerge and dissolve within the flux of his painterly language. Originating from one spontaneous moment to the next\, hidden figures and beguiling narratives reveal themselves to those who slow down in the present moment. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). The Witness\, 2025. Oil on linen. 28 x 36 inches (71.12 x 91.44 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBanisadr’s works often evoke the natural world\, its shifting terrains and elemental forces\, while also suggesting cosmological dimensions that extend beyond the visible. Furthermore\, the artist’s unusual experience as a synesthete—a blending of the senses—also informs his practice. Over the years\, he has learned to allow his unique perceptions to guide his process\, leaning into the ways that color evokes specific sounds of harmony or discord. \nFrancisco de Goya (Spanish\, 1746–1828). Mucho hay que chupar (There is Plenty to Suck) from\, “Los Caprichos\,” 1799. Etching with aquatint. image area: 8 1/8 x 5 inches (20.64 x 12.7 cm); sheet: 11 1/2 x 8 1/8 inches (29.21 x 20.64 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Frederic P. Norton\, 1999 (P1999:6.209).\nThe presentation in the Hemicycle Gallery will also feature an installation that delves deeply into the artist’s influences and process through materials from his studio and an artist-curated selection of works from the museum’s collection. From Andō Hiroshige’s evocative woodcuts and Francisco de Goya’s intense\, sometimes nightmarish\, depictions of violence and superstition to the artist’s sketchbooks and other visual cues\, visitors are invited to immerse themselves in Banisadr’s curious\, fantastical world. \nThe exhibition will be accompanied by an audio journey voiced by Banisadr and will debut a new etching created with the team at Mirabo Press in Buffalo\, New York. A short-documentary film on the artist is also in development. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr: Temple of the Mind is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and co-curated by the artist and Godin-Spaulding Senior Curator for the Collection\, Holly E. Hughes.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-ali-banisadr-temple-of-the-mind-2/2026-09-11/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260911T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260911T200000
DTSTAMP:20260819T015228Z
CREATED:20260819T015228Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T015228Z
UID:10045586-1789120800-1789156800@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Natvar Bhavsar: 'Free Yourself'
DESCRIPTION:Image above: Natvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). REETVA\, 1968. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, acrylic medium on rag paper. 35 x 46 inches (89 x 117 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist.  \n  \nOn view August 21\, 2026 through April 4\, 2027. Surveys fifty years of Natvar Bhavsar’s expressive color-field abstractions made from pure dry pigment\, presented simultaneously with the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Debuts the museum’s two new acquisitions\, RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \n\n\n\n\n\nM&T Bank Gallery\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSeymour H. Knox Building\n“I have tried to convey how to free oneself\, using color as a force to reach towards the beauty and generosity of the material that allows you unlimited expression.”  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). KE-RAA\, 1971. Pure pigment on canvas. 87 x 71 inches (221 x 180 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Natvar Bhavsar and Janet Bhavsar\, 2025. © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Photo: Thomas Müller \nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself surveys fifty years of the artist’s expressive abstractions\, inviting viewers to meditate on the power of pure color. Simultaneously presented at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries\, the exhibitions respectively feature works on paper and monumental paintings spanning each decade of his career. This exhibition also celebrates the debut of the AKG’s two acquisitions by the artist RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \nBhavsar’s unique physical process centers on tiny particles of pure\, dry pigment. He begins by soaking the entire canvas in a clear acrylic binder\, then sifts or brushes pigment through handmade tools and fine mesh screens\, building up to eighty sealed layers. Air currents\, breath\, and the rhythm of his body as he maneuvers around the surface help shape the final image—a carefully controlled dance that produces textured\, smoky surfaces with subtle shifts in color and tone. As Bhavsar describes: \n\n“When I enter my studio\, everything disappears. It’s like I’ve entered another world. I experience Nirvana. It’s an incredible gift in which I disappear\, the studio itself disappears\, New York disappears.”\n\n  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). VAROONA II\, 1988. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, and acrylic medium on rag paper. 49 x 39 inches (125 x 99 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist. \nExamined up close\, his dappled surfaces are palpable; from a distance\, the color fields float and become atmospheric. Some paintings burst with energy\, while others suggest a boundless continuum of color. Unlike other Abstract Expressionists\, who approached the sublime through solemnity\, Bhavsar’s path is ecstatic and celebratory and rooted in his Indian heritage. His work invokes Holi\, the Hindu Spring festival in which revelers douse one another in powdered colors to celebrate the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Later works introducing curlicues draw on rangoli—decorative floor patterns of colored powder made during Diwali\, the festival of light. \nBhavsar’s meditative practice results in an intensely personal experience that invites endless free association—whether you find yourself peering through a microscope\, wandering a Holi celebration\, or gazing from the Hubble telescope is left entirely to you. \n  \n  \n  \n\nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Its presentation in Buffalo is organized by Katie O’Hara\, Assistant Curator\, Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, and its presentation at the University at Buffalo Art Galleries is organized by Robert Scalise\, Director\, University at Buffalo Art Galleries.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-natvar-bhavsar-free-yourself-2/2026-09-11/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thebuffalohive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/exh5081_natvarbhavsar.jpeg
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260912T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260912T180000
DTSTAMP:20260819T154415Z
CREATED:20260819T005516Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T154415Z
UID:10045003-1789207200-1789236000@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Ali Banisadr: Temple of the Mind
DESCRIPTION:Image above:Ali Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, born 1976). Weighing of the heart\, 2023. Oil on linen. 48 x 60 inches (121.92 x 152.4 cm). © Ali Banisadr. \n  \nFriday\, June 26\, 2026–Sunday\, November 8\, 2026abstract\, Contemporary Painting\, painting \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRobert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\n\nImitation is not inspiration\, and inspiration only can give birth to a work of art.\n—Albert Pinkham Ryder\n\nAli Banisadr merges the compositional elements of landscape painting with abstract mark-making to create an altogether new form of figuration. The resulting compositions are a carefully composed bedlam of forms that suggest but ultimately deny any specific narrative. Variously reminiscent of gardens of Eden\, the seasonal genre pictures of Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder\, and Boschian depictions of Hell\, Banisadr’s contemporary abstractions call upon the history of painting. The title of the exhibition\, borrowed from Albert Pinkham Ryder’s enigmatic painting\, The Temple of the Mind\, serves as a conceptual framework for the project\, suggesting a space where perception\, memory\, and imagination converge. While the Romantic painter was admired for his pioneering\, semi-abstract style\, for Banisadr\, Ryder holds a space for contemplation amid rising uncertainties. \nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). Return to Mother\, 2022. Oil on linen. 82 x 180 inches (208.28 x 457.2 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\nGiven his deep interest in art history\, the Buffalo AKG has invited Banisadr to participate in the first-ever artist collection intervention. In addition to the installation in the Hemicycle Gallery\, a focused selection of Banisadr’s work will be installed throughout the Robert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\, among the dreamlike imaginings of the Surrealists and the unbridled energy of the Abstract Expressionists. \nBanisadr reaches across time to draw on a wide range of influences. From art\, history\, literature\, and mythology to music\, film\, and technology\, he thinks of such sources as guiding his hand rather than driving his imagery\, and the powerful microcosms he creates are uniquely his own. Within these layered compositions\, subtle references to current events and the human condition—conflict\, migration\, and collective uncertainty—emerge and dissolve within the flux of his painterly language. Originating from one spontaneous moment to the next\, hidden figures and beguiling narratives reveal themselves to those who slow down in the present moment. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). The Witness\, 2025. Oil on linen. 28 x 36 inches (71.12 x 91.44 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBanisadr’s works often evoke the natural world\, its shifting terrains and elemental forces\, while also suggesting cosmological dimensions that extend beyond the visible. Furthermore\, the artist’s unusual experience as a synesthete—a blending of the senses—also informs his practice. Over the years\, he has learned to allow his unique perceptions to guide his process\, leaning into the ways that color evokes specific sounds of harmony or discord. \nFrancisco de Goya (Spanish\, 1746–1828). Mucho hay que chupar (There is Plenty to Suck) from\, “Los Caprichos\,” 1799. Etching with aquatint. image area: 8 1/8 x 5 inches (20.64 x 12.7 cm); sheet: 11 1/2 x 8 1/8 inches (29.21 x 20.64 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Frederic P. Norton\, 1999 (P1999:6.209).\nThe presentation in the Hemicycle Gallery will also feature an installation that delves deeply into the artist’s influences and process through materials from his studio and an artist-curated selection of works from the museum’s collection. From Andō Hiroshige’s evocative woodcuts and Francisco de Goya’s intense\, sometimes nightmarish\, depictions of violence and superstition to the artist’s sketchbooks and other visual cues\, visitors are invited to immerse themselves in Banisadr’s curious\, fantastical world. \nThe exhibition will be accompanied by an audio journey voiced by Banisadr and will debut a new etching created with the team at Mirabo Press in Buffalo\, New York. A short-documentary film on the artist is also in development. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr: Temple of the Mind is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and co-curated by the artist and Godin-Spaulding Senior Curator for the Collection\, Holly E. Hughes.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-ali-banisadr-temple-of-the-mind-3/2026-09-12/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thebuffalohive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/exh5129-alibanisadr_edgeless.jpeg
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260913T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260913T170000
DTSTAMP:20260819T154435Z
CREATED:20260819T004950Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T154435Z
UID:10045722-1789293600-1789318800@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Ali Banisadr: Temple of the Mind
DESCRIPTION:Image above:Ali Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, born 1976). Weighing of the heart\, 2023. Oil on linen. 48 x 60 inches (121.92 x 152.4 cm). © Ali Banisadr. \nFriday\, June 26\, 2026–Sunday\, November 8\, 2026 \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRobert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\n\nImitation is not inspiration\, and inspiration only can give birth to a work of art.\n—Albert Pinkham Ryder\n\nAli Banisadr merges the compositional elements of landscape painting with abstract mark-making to create an altogether new form of figuration. The resulting compositions are a carefully composed bedlam of forms that suggest but ultimately deny any specific narrative. Variously reminiscent of gardens of Eden\, the seasonal genre pictures of Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder\, and Boschian depictions of Hell\, Banisadr’s contemporary abstractions call upon the history of painting. The title of the exhibition\, borrowed from Albert Pinkham Ryder’s enigmatic painting\, The Temple of the Mind\, serves as a conceptual framework for the project\, suggesting a space where perception\, memory\, and imagination converge. While the Romantic painter was admired for his pioneering\, semi-abstract style\, for Banisadr\, Ryder holds a space for contemplation amid rising uncertainties. \nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). Return to Mother\, 2022. Oil on linen. 82 x 180 inches (208.28 x 457.2 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\nGiven his deep interest in art history\, the Buffalo AKG has invited Banisadr to participate in the first-ever artist collection intervention. In addition to the installation in the Hemicycle Gallery\, a focused selection of Banisadr’s work will be installed throughout the Robert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\, among the dreamlike imaginings of the Surrealists and the unbridled energy of the Abstract Expressionists. \nBanisadr reaches across time to draw on a wide range of influences. From art\, history\, literature\, and mythology to music\, film\, and technology\, he thinks of such sources as guiding his hand rather than driving his imagery\, and the powerful microcosms he creates are uniquely his own. Within these layered compositions\, subtle references to current events and the human condition—conflict\, migration\, and collective uncertainty—emerge and dissolve within the flux of his painterly language. Originating from one spontaneous moment to the next\, hidden figures and beguiling narratives reveal themselves to those who slow down in the present moment. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). The Witness\, 2025. Oil on linen. 28 x 36 inches (71.12 x 91.44 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBanisadr’s works often evoke the natural world\, its shifting terrains and elemental forces\, while also suggesting cosmological dimensions that extend beyond the visible. Furthermore\, the artist’s unusual experience as a synesthete—a blending of the senses—also informs his practice. Over the years\, he has learned to allow his unique perceptions to guide his process\, leaning into the ways that color evokes specific sounds of harmony or discord. \nFrancisco de Goya (Spanish\, 1746–1828). Mucho hay que chupar (There is Plenty to Suck) from\, “Los Caprichos\,” 1799. Etching with aquatint. image area: 8 1/8 x 5 inches (20.64 x 12.7 cm); sheet: 11 1/2 x 8 1/8 inches (29.21 x 20.64 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Frederic P. Norton\, 1999 (P1999:6.209).\nThe presentation in the Hemicycle Gallery will also feature an installation that delves deeply into the artist’s influences and process through materials from his studio and an artist-curated selection of works from the museum’s collection. From Andō Hiroshige’s evocative woodcuts and Francisco de Goya’s intense\, sometimes nightmarish\, depictions of violence and superstition to the artist’s sketchbooks and other visual cues\, visitors are invited to immerse themselves in Banisadr’s curious\, fantastical world. \nThe exhibition will be accompanied by an audio journey voiced by Banisadr and will debut a new etching created with the team at Mirabo Press in Buffalo\, New York. A short-documentary film on the artist is also in development. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr: Temple of the Mind is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and co-curated by the artist and Godin-Spaulding Senior Curator for the Collection\, Holly E. Hughes.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-ali-banisadr-temple-of-the-mind/2026-09-13/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260913T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260913T170000
DTSTAMP:20260819T014754Z
CREATED:20260819T014754Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T014754Z
UID:10045398-1789293600-1789318800@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Natvar Bhavsar: 'Free Yourself'
DESCRIPTION:Image above: Natvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). REETVA\, 1968. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, acrylic medium on rag paper. 35 x 46 inches (89 x 117 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist.  \n  \nOn view August 21\, 2026 through April 4\, 2027. Surveys fifty years of Natvar Bhavsar’s expressive color-field abstractions made from pure dry pigment\, presented simultaneously with the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Debuts the museum’s two new acquisitions\, RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \n\n\n\n\n\nM&T Bank Gallery \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSeymour H. Knox Building\n“I have tried to convey how to free oneself\, using color as a force to reach towards the beauty and generosity of the material that allows you unlimited expression.”  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). KE-RAA\, 1971. Pure pigment on canvas. 87 x 71 inches (221 x 180 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Natvar Bhavsar and Janet Bhavsar\, 2025. © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Photo: Thomas Müller \nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself surveys fifty years of the artist’s expressive abstractions\, inviting viewers to meditate on the power of pure color. Simultaneously presented at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries\, the exhibitions respectively feature works on paper and monumental paintings spanning each decade of his career. This exhibition also celebrates the debut of the AKG’s two acquisitions by the artist RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \nBhavsar’s unique physical process centers on tiny particles of pure\, dry pigment. He begins by soaking the entire canvas in a clear acrylic binder\, then sifts or brushes pigment through handmade tools and fine mesh screens\, building up to eighty sealed layers. Air currents\, breath\, and the rhythm of his body as he maneuvers around the surface help shape the final image—a carefully controlled dance that produces textured\, smoky surfaces with subtle shifts in color and tone. As Bhavsar describes: \n\n“When I enter my studio\, everything disappears. It’s like I’ve entered another world. I experience Nirvana. It’s an incredible gift in which I disappear\, the studio itself disappears\, New York disappears.”\n\n  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). VAROONA II\, 1988. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, and acrylic medium on rag paper. 49 x 39 inches (125 x 99 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist. \nExamined up close\, his dappled surfaces are palpable; from a distance\, the color fields float and become atmospheric. Some paintings burst with energy\, while others suggest a boundless continuum of color. Unlike other Abstract Expressionists\, who approached the sublime through solemnity\, Bhavsar’s path is ecstatic and celebratory and rooted in his Indian heritage. His work invokes Holi\, the Hindu Spring festival in which revelers douse one another in powdered colors to celebrate the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Later works introducing curlicues draw on rangoli—decorative floor patterns of colored powder made during Diwali\, the festival of light. \nBhavsar’s meditative practice results in an intensely personal experience that invites endless free association—whether you find yourself peering through a microscope\, wandering a Holi celebration\, or gazing from the Hubble telescope is left entirely to you. \n  \n  \n  \n\nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Its presentation in Buffalo is organized by Katie O’Hara\, Assistant Curator\, Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, and its presentation at the University at Buffalo Art Galleries is organized by Robert Scalise\, Director\, University at Buffalo Art Galleries.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-natvar-bhavsar-free-yourself/2026-09-13/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thebuffalohive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/exh5081_natvarbhavsar.jpeg
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260913T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260913T180000
DTSTAMP:20260819T015932Z
CREATED:20260819T015932Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T015932Z
UID:10045625-1789293600-1789322400@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Natvar Bhavsar: 'Free Yourself'
DESCRIPTION:Image above: Natvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). REETVA\, 1968. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, acrylic medium on rag paper. 35 x 46 inches (89 x 117 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist.  \n  \nOn view August 21\, 2026 through April 4\, 2027. Surveys fifty years of Natvar Bhavsar’s expressive color-field abstractions made from pure dry pigment\, presented simultaneously with the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Debuts the museum’s two new acquisitions\, RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \n\n\n\n\n\nM&T Bank Gallery\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSeymour H. Knox Building\n“I have tried to convey how to free oneself\, using color as a force to reach towards the beauty and generosity of the material that allows you unlimited expression.”  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). KE-RAA\, 1971. Pure pigment on canvas. 87 x 71 inches (221 x 180 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Natvar Bhavsar and Janet Bhavsar\, 2025. © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Photo: Thomas Müller \nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself surveys fifty years of the artist’s expressive abstractions\, inviting viewers to meditate on the power of pure color. Simultaneously presented at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries\, the exhibitions respectively feature works on paper and monumental paintings spanning each decade of his career. This exhibition also celebrates the debut of the AKG’s two acquisitions by the artist RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \nBhavsar’s unique physical process centers on tiny particles of pure\, dry pigment. He begins by soaking the entire canvas in a clear acrylic binder\, then sifts or brushes pigment through handmade tools and fine mesh screens\, building up to eighty sealed layers. Air currents\, breath\, and the rhythm of his body as he maneuvers around the surface help shape the final image—a carefully controlled dance that produces textured\, smoky surfaces with subtle shifts in color and tone. As Bhavsar describes: \n\n“When I enter my studio\, everything disappears. It’s like I’ve entered another world. I experience Nirvana. It’s an incredible gift in which I disappear\, the studio itself disappears\, New York disappears.”\n\n  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). VAROONA II\, 1988. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, and acrylic medium on rag paper. 49 x 39 inches (125 x 99 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist. \nExamined up close\, his dappled surfaces are palpable; from a distance\, the color fields float and become atmospheric. Some paintings burst with energy\, while others suggest a boundless continuum of color. Unlike other Abstract Expressionists\, who approached the sublime through solemnity\, Bhavsar’s path is ecstatic and celebratory and rooted in his Indian heritage. His work invokes Holi\, the Hindu Spring festival in which revelers douse one another in powdered colors to celebrate the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Later works introducing curlicues draw on rangoli—decorative floor patterns of colored powder made during Diwali\, the festival of light. \nBhavsar’s meditative practice results in an intensely personal experience that invites endless free association—whether you find yourself peering through a microscope\, wandering a Holi celebration\, or gazing from the Hubble telescope is left entirely to you. \n  \n  \n  \n\nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Its presentation in Buffalo is organized by Katie O’Hara\, Assistant Curator\, Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, and its presentation at the University at Buffalo Art Galleries is organized by Robert Scalise\, Director\, University at Buffalo Art Galleries.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-natvar-bhavsar-free-yourself-3/2026-09-13/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260914T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260914T170000
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CREATED:20260819T004950Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T154435Z
UID:10045723-1789380000-1789405200@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Ali Banisadr: Temple of the Mind
DESCRIPTION:Image above:Ali Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, born 1976). Weighing of the heart\, 2023. Oil on linen. 48 x 60 inches (121.92 x 152.4 cm). © Ali Banisadr. \nFriday\, June 26\, 2026–Sunday\, November 8\, 2026 \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRobert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\n\nImitation is not inspiration\, and inspiration only can give birth to a work of art.\n—Albert Pinkham Ryder\n\nAli Banisadr merges the compositional elements of landscape painting with abstract mark-making to create an altogether new form of figuration. The resulting compositions are a carefully composed bedlam of forms that suggest but ultimately deny any specific narrative. Variously reminiscent of gardens of Eden\, the seasonal genre pictures of Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder\, and Boschian depictions of Hell\, Banisadr’s contemporary abstractions call upon the history of painting. The title of the exhibition\, borrowed from Albert Pinkham Ryder’s enigmatic painting\, The Temple of the Mind\, serves as a conceptual framework for the project\, suggesting a space where perception\, memory\, and imagination converge. While the Romantic painter was admired for his pioneering\, semi-abstract style\, for Banisadr\, Ryder holds a space for contemplation amid rising uncertainties. \nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). Return to Mother\, 2022. Oil on linen. 82 x 180 inches (208.28 x 457.2 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\nGiven his deep interest in art history\, the Buffalo AKG has invited Banisadr to participate in the first-ever artist collection intervention. In addition to the installation in the Hemicycle Gallery\, a focused selection of Banisadr’s work will be installed throughout the Robert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\, among the dreamlike imaginings of the Surrealists and the unbridled energy of the Abstract Expressionists. \nBanisadr reaches across time to draw on a wide range of influences. From art\, history\, literature\, and mythology to music\, film\, and technology\, he thinks of such sources as guiding his hand rather than driving his imagery\, and the powerful microcosms he creates are uniquely his own. Within these layered compositions\, subtle references to current events and the human condition—conflict\, migration\, and collective uncertainty—emerge and dissolve within the flux of his painterly language. Originating from one spontaneous moment to the next\, hidden figures and beguiling narratives reveal themselves to those who slow down in the present moment. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). The Witness\, 2025. Oil on linen. 28 x 36 inches (71.12 x 91.44 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBanisadr’s works often evoke the natural world\, its shifting terrains and elemental forces\, while also suggesting cosmological dimensions that extend beyond the visible. Furthermore\, the artist’s unusual experience as a synesthete—a blending of the senses—also informs his practice. Over the years\, he has learned to allow his unique perceptions to guide his process\, leaning into the ways that color evokes specific sounds of harmony or discord. \nFrancisco de Goya (Spanish\, 1746–1828). Mucho hay que chupar (There is Plenty to Suck) from\, “Los Caprichos\,” 1799. Etching with aquatint. image area: 8 1/8 x 5 inches (20.64 x 12.7 cm); sheet: 11 1/2 x 8 1/8 inches (29.21 x 20.64 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Frederic P. Norton\, 1999 (P1999:6.209).\nThe presentation in the Hemicycle Gallery will also feature an installation that delves deeply into the artist’s influences and process through materials from his studio and an artist-curated selection of works from the museum’s collection. From Andō Hiroshige’s evocative woodcuts and Francisco de Goya’s intense\, sometimes nightmarish\, depictions of violence and superstition to the artist’s sketchbooks and other visual cues\, visitors are invited to immerse themselves in Banisadr’s curious\, fantastical world. \nThe exhibition will be accompanied by an audio journey voiced by Banisadr and will debut a new etching created with the team at Mirabo Press in Buffalo\, New York. A short-documentary film on the artist is also in development. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr: Temple of the Mind is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and co-curated by the artist and Godin-Spaulding Senior Curator for the Collection\, Holly E. Hughes.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-ali-banisadr-temple-of-the-mind/2026-09-14/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thebuffalohive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/exh5129-alibanisadr_edgeless.jpeg
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260914T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260914T170000
DTSTAMP:20260819T014754Z
CREATED:20260819T014754Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T014754Z
UID:10045399-1789380000-1789405200@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Natvar Bhavsar: 'Free Yourself'
DESCRIPTION:Image above: Natvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). REETVA\, 1968. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, acrylic medium on rag paper. 35 x 46 inches (89 x 117 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist.  \n  \nOn view August 21\, 2026 through April 4\, 2027. Surveys fifty years of Natvar Bhavsar’s expressive color-field abstractions made from pure dry pigment\, presented simultaneously with the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Debuts the museum’s two new acquisitions\, RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \n\n\n\n\n\nM&T Bank Gallery \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSeymour H. Knox Building\n“I have tried to convey how to free oneself\, using color as a force to reach towards the beauty and generosity of the material that allows you unlimited expression.”  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). KE-RAA\, 1971. Pure pigment on canvas. 87 x 71 inches (221 x 180 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Natvar Bhavsar and Janet Bhavsar\, 2025. © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Photo: Thomas Müller \nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself surveys fifty years of the artist’s expressive abstractions\, inviting viewers to meditate on the power of pure color. Simultaneously presented at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries\, the exhibitions respectively feature works on paper and monumental paintings spanning each decade of his career. This exhibition also celebrates the debut of the AKG’s two acquisitions by the artist RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \nBhavsar’s unique physical process centers on tiny particles of pure\, dry pigment. He begins by soaking the entire canvas in a clear acrylic binder\, then sifts or brushes pigment through handmade tools and fine mesh screens\, building up to eighty sealed layers. Air currents\, breath\, and the rhythm of his body as he maneuvers around the surface help shape the final image—a carefully controlled dance that produces textured\, smoky surfaces with subtle shifts in color and tone. As Bhavsar describes: \n\n“When I enter my studio\, everything disappears. It’s like I’ve entered another world. I experience Nirvana. It’s an incredible gift in which I disappear\, the studio itself disappears\, New York disappears.”\n\n  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). VAROONA II\, 1988. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, and acrylic medium on rag paper. 49 x 39 inches (125 x 99 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist. \nExamined up close\, his dappled surfaces are palpable; from a distance\, the color fields float and become atmospheric. Some paintings burst with energy\, while others suggest a boundless continuum of color. Unlike other Abstract Expressionists\, who approached the sublime through solemnity\, Bhavsar’s path is ecstatic and celebratory and rooted in his Indian heritage. His work invokes Holi\, the Hindu Spring festival in which revelers douse one another in powdered colors to celebrate the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Later works introducing curlicues draw on rangoli—decorative floor patterns of colored powder made during Diwali\, the festival of light. \nBhavsar’s meditative practice results in an intensely personal experience that invites endless free association—whether you find yourself peering through a microscope\, wandering a Holi celebration\, or gazing from the Hubble telescope is left entirely to you. \n  \n  \n  \n\nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Its presentation in Buffalo is organized by Katie O’Hara\, Assistant Curator\, Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, and its presentation at the University at Buffalo Art Galleries is organized by Robert Scalise\, Director\, University at Buffalo Art Galleries.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-natvar-bhavsar-free-yourself/2026-09-14/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thebuffalohive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/exh5081_natvarbhavsar.jpeg
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260914T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260914T180000
DTSTAMP:20260819T015932Z
CREATED:20260819T015932Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T015932Z
UID:10045626-1789380000-1789408800@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Natvar Bhavsar: 'Free Yourself'
DESCRIPTION:Image above: Natvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). REETVA\, 1968. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, acrylic medium on rag paper. 35 x 46 inches (89 x 117 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist.  \n  \nOn view August 21\, 2026 through April 4\, 2027. Surveys fifty years of Natvar Bhavsar’s expressive color-field abstractions made from pure dry pigment\, presented simultaneously with the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Debuts the museum’s two new acquisitions\, RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \n\n\n\n\n\nM&T Bank Gallery\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSeymour H. Knox Building\n“I have tried to convey how to free oneself\, using color as a force to reach towards the beauty and generosity of the material that allows you unlimited expression.”  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). KE-RAA\, 1971. Pure pigment on canvas. 87 x 71 inches (221 x 180 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Natvar Bhavsar and Janet Bhavsar\, 2025. © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Photo: Thomas Müller \nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself surveys fifty years of the artist’s expressive abstractions\, inviting viewers to meditate on the power of pure color. Simultaneously presented at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries\, the exhibitions respectively feature works on paper and monumental paintings spanning each decade of his career. This exhibition also celebrates the debut of the AKG’s two acquisitions by the artist RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \nBhavsar’s unique physical process centers on tiny particles of pure\, dry pigment. He begins by soaking the entire canvas in a clear acrylic binder\, then sifts or brushes pigment through handmade tools and fine mesh screens\, building up to eighty sealed layers. Air currents\, breath\, and the rhythm of his body as he maneuvers around the surface help shape the final image—a carefully controlled dance that produces textured\, smoky surfaces with subtle shifts in color and tone. As Bhavsar describes: \n\n“When I enter my studio\, everything disappears. It’s like I’ve entered another world. I experience Nirvana. It’s an incredible gift in which I disappear\, the studio itself disappears\, New York disappears.”\n\n  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). VAROONA II\, 1988. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, and acrylic medium on rag paper. 49 x 39 inches (125 x 99 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist. \nExamined up close\, his dappled surfaces are palpable; from a distance\, the color fields float and become atmospheric. Some paintings burst with energy\, while others suggest a boundless continuum of color. Unlike other Abstract Expressionists\, who approached the sublime through solemnity\, Bhavsar’s path is ecstatic and celebratory and rooted in his Indian heritage. His work invokes Holi\, the Hindu Spring festival in which revelers douse one another in powdered colors to celebrate the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Later works introducing curlicues draw on rangoli—decorative floor patterns of colored powder made during Diwali\, the festival of light. \nBhavsar’s meditative practice results in an intensely personal experience that invites endless free association—whether you find yourself peering through a microscope\, wandering a Holi celebration\, or gazing from the Hubble telescope is left entirely to you. \n  \n  \n  \n\nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Its presentation in Buffalo is organized by Katie O’Hara\, Assistant Curator\, Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, and its presentation at the University at Buffalo Art Galleries is organized by Robert Scalise\, Director\, University at Buffalo Art Galleries.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-natvar-bhavsar-free-yourself-3/2026-09-14/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thebuffalohive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/exh5081_natvarbhavsar.jpeg
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260917T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260917T170000
DTSTAMP:20260819T154435Z
CREATED:20260819T004950Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T154435Z
UID:10045724-1789639200-1789664400@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Ali Banisadr: Temple of the Mind
DESCRIPTION:Image above:Ali Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, born 1976). Weighing of the heart\, 2023. Oil on linen. 48 x 60 inches (121.92 x 152.4 cm). © Ali Banisadr. \nFriday\, June 26\, 2026–Sunday\, November 8\, 2026 \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRobert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\n\nImitation is not inspiration\, and inspiration only can give birth to a work of art.\n—Albert Pinkham Ryder\n\nAli Banisadr merges the compositional elements of landscape painting with abstract mark-making to create an altogether new form of figuration. The resulting compositions are a carefully composed bedlam of forms that suggest but ultimately deny any specific narrative. Variously reminiscent of gardens of Eden\, the seasonal genre pictures of Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder\, and Boschian depictions of Hell\, Banisadr’s contemporary abstractions call upon the history of painting. The title of the exhibition\, borrowed from Albert Pinkham Ryder’s enigmatic painting\, The Temple of the Mind\, serves as a conceptual framework for the project\, suggesting a space where perception\, memory\, and imagination converge. While the Romantic painter was admired for his pioneering\, semi-abstract style\, for Banisadr\, Ryder holds a space for contemplation amid rising uncertainties. \nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). Return to Mother\, 2022. Oil on linen. 82 x 180 inches (208.28 x 457.2 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\nGiven his deep interest in art history\, the Buffalo AKG has invited Banisadr to participate in the first-ever artist collection intervention. In addition to the installation in the Hemicycle Gallery\, a focused selection of Banisadr’s work will be installed throughout the Robert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\, among the dreamlike imaginings of the Surrealists and the unbridled energy of the Abstract Expressionists. \nBanisadr reaches across time to draw on a wide range of influences. From art\, history\, literature\, and mythology to music\, film\, and technology\, he thinks of such sources as guiding his hand rather than driving his imagery\, and the powerful microcosms he creates are uniquely his own. Within these layered compositions\, subtle references to current events and the human condition—conflict\, migration\, and collective uncertainty—emerge and dissolve within the flux of his painterly language. Originating from one spontaneous moment to the next\, hidden figures and beguiling narratives reveal themselves to those who slow down in the present moment. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). The Witness\, 2025. Oil on linen. 28 x 36 inches (71.12 x 91.44 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBanisadr’s works often evoke the natural world\, its shifting terrains and elemental forces\, while also suggesting cosmological dimensions that extend beyond the visible. Furthermore\, the artist’s unusual experience as a synesthete—a blending of the senses—also informs his practice. Over the years\, he has learned to allow his unique perceptions to guide his process\, leaning into the ways that color evokes specific sounds of harmony or discord. \nFrancisco de Goya (Spanish\, 1746–1828). Mucho hay que chupar (There is Plenty to Suck) from\, “Los Caprichos\,” 1799. Etching with aquatint. image area: 8 1/8 x 5 inches (20.64 x 12.7 cm); sheet: 11 1/2 x 8 1/8 inches (29.21 x 20.64 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Frederic P. Norton\, 1999 (P1999:6.209).\nThe presentation in the Hemicycle Gallery will also feature an installation that delves deeply into the artist’s influences and process through materials from his studio and an artist-curated selection of works from the museum’s collection. From Andō Hiroshige’s evocative woodcuts and Francisco de Goya’s intense\, sometimes nightmarish\, depictions of violence and superstition to the artist’s sketchbooks and other visual cues\, visitors are invited to immerse themselves in Banisadr’s curious\, fantastical world. \nThe exhibition will be accompanied by an audio journey voiced by Banisadr and will debut a new etching created with the team at Mirabo Press in Buffalo\, New York. A short-documentary film on the artist is also in development. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr: Temple of the Mind is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and co-curated by the artist and Godin-Spaulding Senior Curator for the Collection\, Holly E. Hughes.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-ali-banisadr-temple-of-the-mind/2026-09-17/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thebuffalohive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/exh5129-alibanisadr_edgeless.jpeg
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260917T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260917T170000
DTSTAMP:20260819T014754Z
CREATED:20260819T014754Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T014754Z
UID:10045400-1789639200-1789664400@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Natvar Bhavsar: 'Free Yourself'
DESCRIPTION:Image above: Natvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). REETVA\, 1968. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, acrylic medium on rag paper. 35 x 46 inches (89 x 117 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist.  \n  \nOn view August 21\, 2026 through April 4\, 2027. Surveys fifty years of Natvar Bhavsar’s expressive color-field abstractions made from pure dry pigment\, presented simultaneously with the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Debuts the museum’s two new acquisitions\, RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \n\n\n\n\n\nM&T Bank Gallery \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSeymour H. Knox Building\n“I have tried to convey how to free oneself\, using color as a force to reach towards the beauty and generosity of the material that allows you unlimited expression.”  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). KE-RAA\, 1971. Pure pigment on canvas. 87 x 71 inches (221 x 180 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Natvar Bhavsar and Janet Bhavsar\, 2025. © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Photo: Thomas Müller \nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself surveys fifty years of the artist’s expressive abstractions\, inviting viewers to meditate on the power of pure color. Simultaneously presented at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries\, the exhibitions respectively feature works on paper and monumental paintings spanning each decade of his career. This exhibition also celebrates the debut of the AKG’s two acquisitions by the artist RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \nBhavsar’s unique physical process centers on tiny particles of pure\, dry pigment. He begins by soaking the entire canvas in a clear acrylic binder\, then sifts or brushes pigment through handmade tools and fine mesh screens\, building up to eighty sealed layers. Air currents\, breath\, and the rhythm of his body as he maneuvers around the surface help shape the final image—a carefully controlled dance that produces textured\, smoky surfaces with subtle shifts in color and tone. As Bhavsar describes: \n\n“When I enter my studio\, everything disappears. It’s like I’ve entered another world. I experience Nirvana. It’s an incredible gift in which I disappear\, the studio itself disappears\, New York disappears.”\n\n  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). VAROONA II\, 1988. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, and acrylic medium on rag paper. 49 x 39 inches (125 x 99 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist. \nExamined up close\, his dappled surfaces are palpable; from a distance\, the color fields float and become atmospheric. Some paintings burst with energy\, while others suggest a boundless continuum of color. Unlike other Abstract Expressionists\, who approached the sublime through solemnity\, Bhavsar’s path is ecstatic and celebratory and rooted in his Indian heritage. His work invokes Holi\, the Hindu Spring festival in which revelers douse one another in powdered colors to celebrate the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Later works introducing curlicues draw on rangoli—decorative floor patterns of colored powder made during Diwali\, the festival of light. \nBhavsar’s meditative practice results in an intensely personal experience that invites endless free association—whether you find yourself peering through a microscope\, wandering a Holi celebration\, or gazing from the Hubble telescope is left entirely to you. \n  \n  \n  \n\nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Its presentation in Buffalo is organized by Katie O’Hara\, Assistant Curator\, Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, and its presentation at the University at Buffalo Art Galleries is organized by Robert Scalise\, Director\, University at Buffalo Art Galleries.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-natvar-bhavsar-free-yourself/2026-09-17/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thebuffalohive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/exh5081_natvarbhavsar.jpeg
ORGANIZER;CN="Buffalo AKG Art Museum":MAILTO:noreply@facebookmail.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260917T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260917T180000
DTSTAMP:20260819T015932Z
CREATED:20260819T015932Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T015932Z
UID:10045627-1789639200-1789668000@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Natvar Bhavsar: 'Free Yourself'
DESCRIPTION:Image above: Natvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). REETVA\, 1968. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, acrylic medium on rag paper. 35 x 46 inches (89 x 117 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist.  \n  \nOn view August 21\, 2026 through April 4\, 2027. Surveys fifty years of Natvar Bhavsar’s expressive color-field abstractions made from pure dry pigment\, presented simultaneously with the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Debuts the museum’s two new acquisitions\, RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \n\n\n\n\n\nM&T Bank Gallery\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSeymour H. Knox Building\n“I have tried to convey how to free oneself\, using color as a force to reach towards the beauty and generosity of the material that allows you unlimited expression.”  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). KE-RAA\, 1971. Pure pigment on canvas. 87 x 71 inches (221 x 180 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Natvar Bhavsar and Janet Bhavsar\, 2025. © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Photo: Thomas Müller \nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself surveys fifty years of the artist’s expressive abstractions\, inviting viewers to meditate on the power of pure color. Simultaneously presented at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries\, the exhibitions respectively feature works on paper and monumental paintings spanning each decade of his career. This exhibition also celebrates the debut of the AKG’s two acquisitions by the artist RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \nBhavsar’s unique physical process centers on tiny particles of pure\, dry pigment. He begins by soaking the entire canvas in a clear acrylic binder\, then sifts or brushes pigment through handmade tools and fine mesh screens\, building up to eighty sealed layers. Air currents\, breath\, and the rhythm of his body as he maneuvers around the surface help shape the final image—a carefully controlled dance that produces textured\, smoky surfaces with subtle shifts in color and tone. As Bhavsar describes: \n\n“When I enter my studio\, everything disappears. It’s like I’ve entered another world. I experience Nirvana. It’s an incredible gift in which I disappear\, the studio itself disappears\, New York disappears.”\n\n  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). VAROONA II\, 1988. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, and acrylic medium on rag paper. 49 x 39 inches (125 x 99 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist. \nExamined up close\, his dappled surfaces are palpable; from a distance\, the color fields float and become atmospheric. Some paintings burst with energy\, while others suggest a boundless continuum of color. Unlike other Abstract Expressionists\, who approached the sublime through solemnity\, Bhavsar’s path is ecstatic and celebratory and rooted in his Indian heritage. His work invokes Holi\, the Hindu Spring festival in which revelers douse one another in powdered colors to celebrate the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Later works introducing curlicues draw on rangoli—decorative floor patterns of colored powder made during Diwali\, the festival of light. \nBhavsar’s meditative practice results in an intensely personal experience that invites endless free association—whether you find yourself peering through a microscope\, wandering a Holi celebration\, or gazing from the Hubble telescope is left entirely to you. \n  \n  \n  \n\nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Its presentation in Buffalo is organized by Katie O’Hara\, Assistant Curator\, Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, and its presentation at the University at Buffalo Art Galleries is organized by Robert Scalise\, Director\, University at Buffalo Art Galleries.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-natvar-bhavsar-free-yourself-3/2026-09-17/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260918T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260918T200000
DTSTAMP:20260819T154423Z
CREATED:20260819T005324Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T154423Z
UID:10044209-1789725600-1789761600@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Ali Banisadr: Temple of the Mind
DESCRIPTION:Image above:Ali Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, born 1976). Weighing of the heart\, 2023. Oil on linen. 48 x 60 inches (121.92 x 152.4 cm). © Ali Banisadr. \n  \nFriday\, June 26\, 2026–Sunday\, November 8\, 2026 \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFriday\, 10 am–8 pm  (until 9 pm on M&T FIRST FRIDAYS)\n\nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, born 1976). Weighing of the heart\, 2023. Oil on linen. 48 x 60 inches (121.92 x 152.4 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRobert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\n\nImitation is not inspiration\, and inspiration only can give birth to a work of art.\n—Albert Pinkham Ryder\n\nAli Banisadr merges the compositional elements of landscape painting with abstract mark-making to create an altogether new form of figuration. The resulting compositions are a carefully composed bedlam of forms that suggest but ultimately deny any specific narrative. Variously reminiscent of gardens of Eden\, the seasonal genre pictures of Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder\, and Boschian depictions of Hell\, Banisadr’s contemporary abstractions call upon the history of painting. The title of the exhibition\, borrowed from Albert Pinkham Ryder’s enigmatic painting\, The Temple of the Mind\, serves as a conceptual framework for the project\, suggesting a space where perception\, memory\, and imagination converge. While the Romantic painter was admired for his pioneering\, semi-abstract style\, for Banisadr\, Ryder holds a space for contemplation amid rising uncertainties. \nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). Return to Mother\, 2022. Oil on linen. 82 x 180 inches (208.28 x 457.2 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\nGiven his deep interest in art history\, the Buffalo AKG has invited Banisadr to participate in the first-ever artist collection intervention. In addition to the installation in the Hemicycle Gallery\, a focused selection of Banisadr’s work will be installed throughout the Robert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\, among the dreamlike imaginings of the Surrealists and the unbridled energy of the Abstract Expressionists. \nBanisadr reaches across time to draw on a wide range of influences. From art\, history\, literature\, and mythology to music\, film\, and technology\, he thinks of such sources as guiding his hand rather than driving his imagery\, and the powerful microcosms he creates are uniquely his own. Within these layered compositions\, subtle references to current events and the human condition—conflict\, migration\, and collective uncertainty—emerge and dissolve within the flux of his painterly language. Originating from one spontaneous moment to the next\, hidden figures and beguiling narratives reveal themselves to those who slow down in the present moment. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). The Witness\, 2025. Oil on linen. 28 x 36 inches (71.12 x 91.44 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBanisadr’s works often evoke the natural world\, its shifting terrains and elemental forces\, while also suggesting cosmological dimensions that extend beyond the visible. Furthermore\, the artist’s unusual experience as a synesthete—a blending of the senses—also informs his practice. Over the years\, he has learned to allow his unique perceptions to guide his process\, leaning into the ways that color evokes specific sounds of harmony or discord. \nFrancisco de Goya (Spanish\, 1746–1828). Mucho hay que chupar (There is Plenty to Suck) from\, “Los Caprichos\,” 1799. Etching with aquatint. image area: 8 1/8 x 5 inches (20.64 x 12.7 cm); sheet: 11 1/2 x 8 1/8 inches (29.21 x 20.64 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Frederic P. Norton\, 1999 (P1999:6.209).\nThe presentation in the Hemicycle Gallery will also feature an installation that delves deeply into the artist’s influences and process through materials from his studio and an artist-curated selection of works from the museum’s collection. From Andō Hiroshige’s evocative woodcuts and Francisco de Goya’s intense\, sometimes nightmarish\, depictions of violence and superstition to the artist’s sketchbooks and other visual cues\, visitors are invited to immerse themselves in Banisadr’s curious\, fantastical world. \nThe exhibition will be accompanied by an audio journey voiced by Banisadr and will debut a new etching created with the team at Mirabo Press in Buffalo\, New York. A short-documentary film on the artist is also in development. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr: Temple of the Mind is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and co-curated by the artist and Godin-Spaulding Senior Curator for the Collection\, Holly E. Hughes.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-ali-banisadr-temple-of-the-mind-2/2026-09-18/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260918T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260918T200000
DTSTAMP:20260819T015228Z
CREATED:20260819T015228Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T015228Z
UID:10045587-1789725600-1789761600@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Natvar Bhavsar: 'Free Yourself'
DESCRIPTION:Image above: Natvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). REETVA\, 1968. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, acrylic medium on rag paper. 35 x 46 inches (89 x 117 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist.  \n  \nOn view August 21\, 2026 through April 4\, 2027. Surveys fifty years of Natvar Bhavsar’s expressive color-field abstractions made from pure dry pigment\, presented simultaneously with the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Debuts the museum’s two new acquisitions\, RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \n\n\n\n\n\nM&T Bank Gallery\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSeymour H. Knox Building\n“I have tried to convey how to free oneself\, using color as a force to reach towards the beauty and generosity of the material that allows you unlimited expression.”  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). KE-RAA\, 1971. Pure pigment on canvas. 87 x 71 inches (221 x 180 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Natvar Bhavsar and Janet Bhavsar\, 2025. © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Photo: Thomas Müller \nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself surveys fifty years of the artist’s expressive abstractions\, inviting viewers to meditate on the power of pure color. Simultaneously presented at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries\, the exhibitions respectively feature works on paper and monumental paintings spanning each decade of his career. This exhibition also celebrates the debut of the AKG’s two acquisitions by the artist RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \nBhavsar’s unique physical process centers on tiny particles of pure\, dry pigment. He begins by soaking the entire canvas in a clear acrylic binder\, then sifts or brushes pigment through handmade tools and fine mesh screens\, building up to eighty sealed layers. Air currents\, breath\, and the rhythm of his body as he maneuvers around the surface help shape the final image—a carefully controlled dance that produces textured\, smoky surfaces with subtle shifts in color and tone. As Bhavsar describes: \n\n“When I enter my studio\, everything disappears. It’s like I’ve entered another world. I experience Nirvana. It’s an incredible gift in which I disappear\, the studio itself disappears\, New York disappears.”\n\n  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). VAROONA II\, 1988. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, and acrylic medium on rag paper. 49 x 39 inches (125 x 99 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist. \nExamined up close\, his dappled surfaces are palpable; from a distance\, the color fields float and become atmospheric. Some paintings burst with energy\, while others suggest a boundless continuum of color. Unlike other Abstract Expressionists\, who approached the sublime through solemnity\, Bhavsar’s path is ecstatic and celebratory and rooted in his Indian heritage. His work invokes Holi\, the Hindu Spring festival in which revelers douse one another in powdered colors to celebrate the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Later works introducing curlicues draw on rangoli—decorative floor patterns of colored powder made during Diwali\, the festival of light. \nBhavsar’s meditative practice results in an intensely personal experience that invites endless free association—whether you find yourself peering through a microscope\, wandering a Holi celebration\, or gazing from the Hubble telescope is left entirely to you. \n  \n  \n  \n\nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Its presentation in Buffalo is organized by Katie O’Hara\, Assistant Curator\, Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, and its presentation at the University at Buffalo Art Galleries is organized by Robert Scalise\, Director\, University at Buffalo Art Galleries.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-natvar-bhavsar-free-yourself-2/2026-09-18/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thebuffalohive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/exh5081_natvarbhavsar.jpeg
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T180000
DTSTAMP:20260819T154415Z
CREATED:20260819T005516Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T154415Z
UID:10045004-1789812000-1789840800@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Ali Banisadr: Temple of the Mind
DESCRIPTION:Image above:Ali Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, born 1976). Weighing of the heart\, 2023. Oil on linen. 48 x 60 inches (121.92 x 152.4 cm). © Ali Banisadr. \n  \nFriday\, June 26\, 2026–Sunday\, November 8\, 2026abstract\, Contemporary Painting\, painting \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRobert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\n\nImitation is not inspiration\, and inspiration only can give birth to a work of art.\n—Albert Pinkham Ryder\n\nAli Banisadr merges the compositional elements of landscape painting with abstract mark-making to create an altogether new form of figuration. The resulting compositions are a carefully composed bedlam of forms that suggest but ultimately deny any specific narrative. Variously reminiscent of gardens of Eden\, the seasonal genre pictures of Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder\, and Boschian depictions of Hell\, Banisadr’s contemporary abstractions call upon the history of painting. The title of the exhibition\, borrowed from Albert Pinkham Ryder’s enigmatic painting\, The Temple of the Mind\, serves as a conceptual framework for the project\, suggesting a space where perception\, memory\, and imagination converge. While the Romantic painter was admired for his pioneering\, semi-abstract style\, for Banisadr\, Ryder holds a space for contemplation amid rising uncertainties. \nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). Return to Mother\, 2022. Oil on linen. 82 x 180 inches (208.28 x 457.2 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\nGiven his deep interest in art history\, the Buffalo AKG has invited Banisadr to participate in the first-ever artist collection intervention. In addition to the installation in the Hemicycle Gallery\, a focused selection of Banisadr’s work will be installed throughout the Robert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\, among the dreamlike imaginings of the Surrealists and the unbridled energy of the Abstract Expressionists. \nBanisadr reaches across time to draw on a wide range of influences. From art\, history\, literature\, and mythology to music\, film\, and technology\, he thinks of such sources as guiding his hand rather than driving his imagery\, and the powerful microcosms he creates are uniquely his own. Within these layered compositions\, subtle references to current events and the human condition—conflict\, migration\, and collective uncertainty—emerge and dissolve within the flux of his painterly language. Originating from one spontaneous moment to the next\, hidden figures and beguiling narratives reveal themselves to those who slow down in the present moment. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). The Witness\, 2025. Oil on linen. 28 x 36 inches (71.12 x 91.44 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBanisadr’s works often evoke the natural world\, its shifting terrains and elemental forces\, while also suggesting cosmological dimensions that extend beyond the visible. Furthermore\, the artist’s unusual experience as a synesthete—a blending of the senses—also informs his practice. Over the years\, he has learned to allow his unique perceptions to guide his process\, leaning into the ways that color evokes specific sounds of harmony or discord. \nFrancisco de Goya (Spanish\, 1746–1828). Mucho hay que chupar (There is Plenty to Suck) from\, “Los Caprichos\,” 1799. Etching with aquatint. image area: 8 1/8 x 5 inches (20.64 x 12.7 cm); sheet: 11 1/2 x 8 1/8 inches (29.21 x 20.64 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Frederic P. Norton\, 1999 (P1999:6.209).\nThe presentation in the Hemicycle Gallery will also feature an installation that delves deeply into the artist’s influences and process through materials from his studio and an artist-curated selection of works from the museum’s collection. From Andō Hiroshige’s evocative woodcuts and Francisco de Goya’s intense\, sometimes nightmarish\, depictions of violence and superstition to the artist’s sketchbooks and other visual cues\, visitors are invited to immerse themselves in Banisadr’s curious\, fantastical world. \nThe exhibition will be accompanied by an audio journey voiced by Banisadr and will debut a new etching created with the team at Mirabo Press in Buffalo\, New York. A short-documentary film on the artist is also in development. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr: Temple of the Mind is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and co-curated by the artist and Godin-Spaulding Senior Curator for the Collection\, Holly E. Hughes.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-ali-banisadr-temple-of-the-mind-3/2026-09-19/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thebuffalohive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/exh5129-alibanisadr_edgeless.jpeg
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260920T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260920T170000
DTSTAMP:20260819T154435Z
CREATED:20260819T004950Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T154435Z
UID:10045725-1789898400-1789923600@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Ali Banisadr: Temple of the Mind
DESCRIPTION:Image above:Ali Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, born 1976). Weighing of the heart\, 2023. Oil on linen. 48 x 60 inches (121.92 x 152.4 cm). © Ali Banisadr. \nFriday\, June 26\, 2026–Sunday\, November 8\, 2026 \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRobert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\n\nImitation is not inspiration\, and inspiration only can give birth to a work of art.\n—Albert Pinkham Ryder\n\nAli Banisadr merges the compositional elements of landscape painting with abstract mark-making to create an altogether new form of figuration. The resulting compositions are a carefully composed bedlam of forms that suggest but ultimately deny any specific narrative. Variously reminiscent of gardens of Eden\, the seasonal genre pictures of Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder\, and Boschian depictions of Hell\, Banisadr’s contemporary abstractions call upon the history of painting. The title of the exhibition\, borrowed from Albert Pinkham Ryder’s enigmatic painting\, The Temple of the Mind\, serves as a conceptual framework for the project\, suggesting a space where perception\, memory\, and imagination converge. While the Romantic painter was admired for his pioneering\, semi-abstract style\, for Banisadr\, Ryder holds a space for contemplation amid rising uncertainties. \nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). Return to Mother\, 2022. Oil on linen. 82 x 180 inches (208.28 x 457.2 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\nGiven his deep interest in art history\, the Buffalo AKG has invited Banisadr to participate in the first-ever artist collection intervention. In addition to the installation in the Hemicycle Gallery\, a focused selection of Banisadr’s work will be installed throughout the Robert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building\, among the dreamlike imaginings of the Surrealists and the unbridled energy of the Abstract Expressionists. \nBanisadr reaches across time to draw on a wide range of influences. From art\, history\, literature\, and mythology to music\, film\, and technology\, he thinks of such sources as guiding his hand rather than driving his imagery\, and the powerful microcosms he creates are uniquely his own. Within these layered compositions\, subtle references to current events and the human condition—conflict\, migration\, and collective uncertainty—emerge and dissolve within the flux of his painterly language. Originating from one spontaneous moment to the next\, hidden figures and beguiling narratives reveal themselves to those who slow down in the present moment. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr (American\, born Iran\, 1976). The Witness\, 2025. Oil on linen. 28 x 36 inches (71.12 x 91.44 cm). © Ali Banisadr.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBanisadr’s works often evoke the natural world\, its shifting terrains and elemental forces\, while also suggesting cosmological dimensions that extend beyond the visible. Furthermore\, the artist’s unusual experience as a synesthete—a blending of the senses—also informs his practice. Over the years\, he has learned to allow his unique perceptions to guide his process\, leaning into the ways that color evokes specific sounds of harmony or discord. \nFrancisco de Goya (Spanish\, 1746–1828). Mucho hay que chupar (There is Plenty to Suck) from\, “Los Caprichos\,” 1799. Etching with aquatint. image area: 8 1/8 x 5 inches (20.64 x 12.7 cm); sheet: 11 1/2 x 8 1/8 inches (29.21 x 20.64 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Frederic P. Norton\, 1999 (P1999:6.209).\nThe presentation in the Hemicycle Gallery will also feature an installation that delves deeply into the artist’s influences and process through materials from his studio and an artist-curated selection of works from the museum’s collection. From Andō Hiroshige’s evocative woodcuts and Francisco de Goya’s intense\, sometimes nightmarish\, depictions of violence and superstition to the artist’s sketchbooks and other visual cues\, visitors are invited to immerse themselves in Banisadr’s curious\, fantastical world. \nThe exhibition will be accompanied by an audio journey voiced by Banisadr and will debut a new etching created with the team at Mirabo Press in Buffalo\, New York. A short-documentary film on the artist is also in development. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAli Banisadr: Temple of the Mind is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and co-curated by the artist and Godin-Spaulding Senior Curator for the Collection\, Holly E. Hughes.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-ali-banisadr-temple-of-the-mind/2026-09-20/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260920T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260920T170000
DTSTAMP:20260819T014754Z
CREATED:20260819T014754Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T014754Z
UID:10045401-1789898400-1789923600@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Natvar Bhavsar: 'Free Yourself'
DESCRIPTION:Image above: Natvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). REETVA\, 1968. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, acrylic medium on rag paper. 35 x 46 inches (89 x 117 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist.  \n  \nOn view August 21\, 2026 through April 4\, 2027. Surveys fifty years of Natvar Bhavsar’s expressive color-field abstractions made from pure dry pigment\, presented simultaneously with the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Debuts the museum’s two new acquisitions\, RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \n\n\n\n\n\nM&T Bank Gallery \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSeymour H. Knox Building\n“I have tried to convey how to free oneself\, using color as a force to reach towards the beauty and generosity of the material that allows you unlimited expression.”  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). KE-RAA\, 1971. Pure pigment on canvas. 87 x 71 inches (221 x 180 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Natvar Bhavsar and Janet Bhavsar\, 2025. © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Photo: Thomas Müller \nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself surveys fifty years of the artist’s expressive abstractions\, inviting viewers to meditate on the power of pure color. Simultaneously presented at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries\, the exhibitions respectively feature works on paper and monumental paintings spanning each decade of his career. This exhibition also celebrates the debut of the AKG’s two acquisitions by the artist RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \nBhavsar’s unique physical process centers on tiny particles of pure\, dry pigment. He begins by soaking the entire canvas in a clear acrylic binder\, then sifts or brushes pigment through handmade tools and fine mesh screens\, building up to eighty sealed layers. Air currents\, breath\, and the rhythm of his body as he maneuvers around the surface help shape the final image—a carefully controlled dance that produces textured\, smoky surfaces with subtle shifts in color and tone. As Bhavsar describes: \n\n“When I enter my studio\, everything disappears. It’s like I’ve entered another world. I experience Nirvana. It’s an incredible gift in which I disappear\, the studio itself disappears\, New York disappears.”\n\n  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). VAROONA II\, 1988. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, and acrylic medium on rag paper. 49 x 39 inches (125 x 99 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist. \nExamined up close\, his dappled surfaces are palpable; from a distance\, the color fields float and become atmospheric. Some paintings burst with energy\, while others suggest a boundless continuum of color. Unlike other Abstract Expressionists\, who approached the sublime through solemnity\, Bhavsar’s path is ecstatic and celebratory and rooted in his Indian heritage. His work invokes Holi\, the Hindu Spring festival in which revelers douse one another in powdered colors to celebrate the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Later works introducing curlicues draw on rangoli—decorative floor patterns of colored powder made during Diwali\, the festival of light. \nBhavsar’s meditative practice results in an intensely personal experience that invites endless free association—whether you find yourself peering through a microscope\, wandering a Holi celebration\, or gazing from the Hubble telescope is left entirely to you. \n  \n  \n  \n\nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Its presentation in Buffalo is organized by Katie O’Hara\, Assistant Curator\, Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, and its presentation at the University at Buffalo Art Galleries is organized by Robert Scalise\, Director\, University at Buffalo Art Galleries.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-natvar-bhavsar-free-yourself/2026-09-20/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thebuffalohive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/exh5081_natvarbhavsar.jpeg
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260920T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260920T180000
DTSTAMP:20260819T015932Z
CREATED:20260819T015932Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T015932Z
UID:10045628-1789898400-1789927200@thebuffalohive.com
SUMMARY:Buffalo Art: Natvar Bhavsar: 'Free Yourself'
DESCRIPTION:Image above: Natvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). REETVA\, 1968. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, acrylic medium on rag paper. 35 x 46 inches (89 x 117 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist.  \n  \nOn view August 21\, 2026 through April 4\, 2027. Surveys fifty years of Natvar Bhavsar’s expressive color-field abstractions made from pure dry pigment\, presented simultaneously with the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Debuts the museum’s two new acquisitions\, RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \n\n\n\n\n\nM&T Bank Gallery\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSeymour H. Knox Building\n“I have tried to convey how to free oneself\, using color as a force to reach towards the beauty and generosity of the material that allows you unlimited expression.”  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). KE-RAA\, 1971. Pure pigment on canvas. 87 x 71 inches (221 x 180 cm). Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Gift of Natvar Bhavsar and Janet Bhavsar\, 2025. © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Photo: Thomas Müller \nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself surveys fifty years of the artist’s expressive abstractions\, inviting viewers to meditate on the power of pure color. Simultaneously presented at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries\, the exhibitions respectively feature works on paper and monumental paintings spanning each decade of his career. This exhibition also celebrates the debut of the AKG’s two acquisitions by the artist RITI-YAA (1969) and KE-RAA (1971). \nBhavsar’s unique physical process centers on tiny particles of pure\, dry pigment. He begins by soaking the entire canvas in a clear acrylic binder\, then sifts or brushes pigment through handmade tools and fine mesh screens\, building up to eighty sealed layers. Air currents\, breath\, and the rhythm of his body as he maneuvers around the surface help shape the final image—a carefully controlled dance that produces textured\, smoky surfaces with subtle shifts in color and tone. As Bhavsar describes: \n\n“When I enter my studio\, everything disappears. It’s like I’ve entered another world. I experience Nirvana. It’s an incredible gift in which I disappear\, the studio itself disappears\, New York disappears.”\n\n  \nNatvar Bhavsar (American\, born India\, 1934). VAROONA II\, 1988. Painting on paper\, dry pigment\, and acrylic medium on rag paper. 49 x 39 inches (125 x 99 cm). © 2026 Natvar Bhavsar / Artists Rights Society (ARS)\, New York. Image courtesy of the artist. \nExamined up close\, his dappled surfaces are palpable; from a distance\, the color fields float and become atmospheric. Some paintings burst with energy\, while others suggest a boundless continuum of color. Unlike other Abstract Expressionists\, who approached the sublime through solemnity\, Bhavsar’s path is ecstatic and celebratory and rooted in his Indian heritage. His work invokes Holi\, the Hindu Spring festival in which revelers douse one another in powdered colors to celebrate the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Later works introducing curlicues draw on rangoli—decorative floor patterns of colored powder made during Diwali\, the festival of light. \nBhavsar’s meditative practice results in an intensely personal experience that invites endless free association—whether you find yourself peering through a microscope\, wandering a Holi celebration\, or gazing from the Hubble telescope is left entirely to you. \n  \n  \n  \n\nNatvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself is organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Its presentation in Buffalo is organized by Katie O’Hara\, Assistant Curator\, Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, and its presentation at the University at Buffalo Art Galleries is organized by Robert Scalise\, Director\, University at Buffalo Art Galleries.
URL:https://thebuffalohive.com/event/buffalo-art-natvar-bhavsar-free-yourself-3/2026-09-20/
LOCATION:Buffalo AKG Art Museum\, Buffalo\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Art
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ORGANIZER;CN="Buffalo AKG Art Museum":MAILTO:noreply@facebookmail.com
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