Gary Lichtenstein Editions

08/06/2026

07/24/2026

Always amazing to have Vincent in the studio! Never enough time, though… ❤️

Vincent Valdez MASS MoCA

07/04/2026

July 4th 2026

Albert Diaz MASS MoCA

06/22/2026

Such a great weekend with Al and the FreshGrass Foundation Team!

hi>AI

Website in development: www.hii.art

Stay tuned!

Albert Diaz FreshGrass Foundation MASS MoCA

06/15/2026

Oh Danny… it’s too soon to say goodbye. You were the brightest light my friend. ❤️🌟❤️

05/12/2026

In March of 2025, Amir came to the studio with a new idea. He had long been fascinated by the history of Persian vases and had already embarked on a series of wooden prototypes. Inspired by the poetry of Omar Khayyam, he was drawn to the vase as a vessel once inhabited by something deeper – a metaphor for the human body as a shaped, finite container; and the soul as the presence that once filled it. The image conveys mortality, the body’s fragility, and the soul’s lingering essence. Amir wanted to expand this body of work with silkscreen prints.

Once back in Tehran, the vases were realized as iron sculptures and exhibited alongside Amir’s paintings and prints in an immersive solo show curated by Parsa Farsha, artistic director of Dastan Gallery. As Firouzeh Saghafi noted, “The works are keyed to the present tense of Tehran. Their heaviness, their weight, their built-in unpredictability echo the oppressiveness of living in this city.”

When Amir returned this year, our exploration continued. He spent two solid weeks hand painting his mylars and as his designs evolved, we pushed further with new color variations and unexpected combinations.

The new series entitled, “Rooheshoon Shad” is Amir’s response to current events in Iran. He sees these vases as the souls lost – finite vessels emptied of their presence, as Omar Khayyam once aptly described.

05/07/2026

So great to have Otis back in the studio!

05/02/2026

“Danny Simmons: Visual Expressions” opens at The Butler Institute of American Art on May 3, 2026!

“For an artist, the printing process has a magnetic pull,” said Danny Simmons. “The transition from a layered painting to a silkscreen print is a powerful evolution. The printing process acts as a mirror, with every layer of ink informing the original artistic decisions I made. Upon seeing the initial prints for my Butler Institute exhibition, my immediate instinct was to continue their story. By integrating textiles and fabric back onto the prints, I bridge the gap between original and reproduction, physically constructing my exploration of deep-seated themes of ancestry, memory, and the diaspora. I truly enjoyed working with Lichtenstein Editions on this body of work, and I’ve included something totally unique that deviates from those prints while remaining squarely within the exhibition’s themes—you’ll just have to come see it for yourself.”

For over four decades, Danny Simmons (b. 1953) has created paintings, works on paper, and assemblages informed by the spirit imbued in indigenous and African cultures. As the founder of the artistic movement Neo-African Abstract Expressionism, Simmons reclaims traditional African motifs used in modernism through his use of dots, textiles, and tribal markings. Simmons is an author, poet, philanthropist, curator, co-creator of Def Poetry Jam, and co-founder of the renowned Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. Through the non-profit organization, Rush Arts Gallery NYC and Rush Arts Philadelphia have served as important cultural hubs providing exhibitions, arts education and opportunities for hundreds of emerging, developing and underrepresented artists of color since 1995. Simmons is also a collector of contemporary art and African sculpture.

Danny Simmons is represented by Westwood Gallery, NYC.

The Butler Institute of American Art Westwood Gallery

04/12/2026

I’ve been working with Amir Akhavan since 2014 and, over the years, I’ve watched him consistently examine the subject of duality, through his portrayal of figures who are frequently stereotyped. A citizen of the United States and Iran, Amir has had the opportunity to understand very different and frequently opposing perspectives relating to, among other things, the subject of armed conflict, religion and immigration. Amir’s own perspective is shaped by the fact that he was raised in America as an Iranian and later returned to Iran as an American. This print series is a departure from what Amir and I developed early on and yet, it is deeply and importantly connected – introducing new concepts and a distinct language of understanding. Stay tuned as we share more details.