Ancestors I from the collection of Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College

Ancestors I, 2015

C-print, acrylic, and dried paint skins

20 x 16 in (50.8 x 40.64 cm)

Inv: 2021.8.1

Anonymous Gift

In 2014, Amir H. Fallah scoured listings for estate sales near his home in Los Angeles before picking one to attend, solely based on the intriguing description: “From the Primitive to the Present.” There, he acquired diaries, home movies, photographs, clothing, and other objects from a family who had lived in the area for a generation. Fallah then used the rescued objects to uncover details about the family, including their names and occupations, to create a new narrative realized through painting, collage, and sculpture.
Fallah first created five abstracted portraits of contemporaneous family members. These faceless renderings were inspired by the objects and fabric patterns that once belonged to the anonymous individuals. He then created a series of collaged portraits, including Ancestors 1 and Ancestors 2, by working atop turn-of-the-century photographs of the family’s ancestors. While the two series are quite different stylistically, the works all speak to Fallah’s interest in universality. By stripping away – or in the case of Ancestors, covering up – all recognizable attributes, Fallah transforms the individuals from specific to general; the portraits are no one and everyone, but more importantly, they highlight the fallibility of defining others based on superficial traits of race, gender, age, and ethnicity. After completing the first series of paintings, Fallah collected dried glaze and oil paint residue from his palette to create collages like those on view in True Likeness. Thus, all of the works about this family now hold the same DNA, creating a dialogue between old and new, between one generation and the next.

From Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College

Ryan O'Malley

Your Face is Momentary, 2009

Lithograph on paper

22.125 x 30 in (56.2 x 76.2 cm)
Michael Cunningham

Crowns (Denise Hartsfield), 1999

Gelatin silver print

19.375 x 15.375 in (49.21 x 39.05 cm)
Anne Noggle

Agnes in her Fur Collar, 1982

Silver gelatin print

24 x 19.75 in (60.96 x 50.17 cm)
Ernest Trova

Untitled (Falling Man), 1978

Steel

12 x 11 x 25 in (30.48 x 27.94 x 63.5 cm)
Robert Ecker

Reflections, 1978

Mezzotint on paper

10 x 8 in (25.4 x 20.32 cm)
A.R. Ammons

Untitled, 1977

Watercolor and ink on Arches paper

24 x 18 in (60.96 x 45.72 cm)
A.R. Ammons

Untitled, 1977

Watercolor and ink on Arches paper

24 x 18 in (60.96 x 45.72 cm)
Larry Fink

Silk Legs, Regines, NYC, Social Context, 1977

Gelatin silver print

19.875 x 15.875 in (50.48 x 40.32 cm)

View All Artworks

About the artist

Amir H. Fallah

Iranian

b. 1979

Amir Fallah received his BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and his MFA from UCLA. He has exhibited his work internationally, including at the Weatherspoon Art Museum, University of North Carolina at Greensboro; The Sharjah Biennial 2009; Third Line Gallery in Dubai, UAE; Gallery Wendi Norris and Baer Ridgway Exhibitions, both in San Francisco; Cherry and Martin, Mary Goldman, and LA Louver galleries in Los Angeles; and 31 Grand and Frederieke Taylor Gallery in New York; among others. He has been a visiting lecturer at such institutions as University of Southern California, UCLA, Cleveland Institute of Art, University of New Mexico, Otis College of Art and Design, and Maryland Institute College of Art. Additionally, Fallah was the founder and editor for more than a decade of Beautiful Decay magazine.

Additional Details

Additional Artworks

Your Face is Momentary, 2009

Crowns (Denise Hartsfield), 1999

Agnes in her Fur Collar, 1982

Untitled (Falling Man), 1978

Reflections, 1978

Untitled, 1977

Untitled, 1977

Silk Legs, Regines, NYC, Social Context, 1977

About the artist

Amir H. Fallah