Tampa Art Museum Exhibit Follows Iranian Artist's Journey Of Self-Love

TAMPA, FL — The Tampa Museum of Art is hosting bonus Saturday hours Dec. 17 from noon to 4 p.m. to give art lovers an opportunity to view the latest exhibit, One and Only · يكتا, on display in the Parachute Gallery, 1624 E 7th Ave., Suite 240, Tampa, through Dec. 23.

A closing reception for the exhibit will take place Thursday, Dec. 22 from 5 to 8 p.m.

One and Only · يكتا centers around the project Green Wedding by Fort Myers-based Iranian artist, Leila Mesdaghi, and includes the work of six additional regional and national artists: Sharareh Allahyari of Rancho Cordova, California; Jordan Blankenship of Estero; Golbanou Moghaddas of San Francisco; Pottery Boys - Glenn Woods and Keith Herbrand of Palm Harbor, and Rebecca Stevens of St. Petersburg.

In late 2021, Mesdaghi traveled to her childhood home in Tehran, Iran, to throw herself a wedding, sans partner.

"As a child, I had dreams about getting married and having a wedding in our house," she wrote. "An Iranian wedding is a heavily glamorized and festive event where the bride is treated like a princess and guests come to celebrate and admire her with gold and jewelry. I decided to have a wedding for myself. I made my dress at a high-end fashion boutique, bought a beautiful gold ring with my dad’s money, hired Maryam Saeedpoor (a well-known photographer,) a hair stylist, played Persian wedding music and had a few friends plus my aunt and uncle as my guests."
Documentation of the ceremony—a series of six limited-edition portraits by Saeedpoor and a collaborative video piece with director Khashayar Khalilkhani and vocalist Mahboubeh Golzari, reciting a poem by Iranian poet Houshang Ebtehaj about love and longing—beautifully articulates the complex emotions behind the project.

Inspired by this bold act of self-love, the exhibition One and Only · يكتا brings together elements of Mesdaghi's Green Wedding with the works of the six other regional and national artists.

Allahyari creates etched jewelry pieces with an air of romance. She draws inspiration from her home country of Iran’s rich history and culture, its people, music and poetry.

Moghaddas similarly draws inspiration from the literary arts of Iran. Her miniature etchings explore traditions of Persian story-telling, her expressive but unorthodox narratives pressed into paper.

Stevens makes elegant ceramic vessels that celebrate life’s small moments, often incorporating her other art practice, ballet.

Blankenship’s functional ceramics encourage their user to slow down and mindfully enjoy daily rituals around nourishment.

The Pottery Boys, Glenn Woods and Keith Herbrand, are experts of crystalline glazes on their elegant ceramic vessels, whose glossy, richly colored surfaces beg a gentle touch.

One and Only · يكتا gains new meaning as protests for women’s rights continue across Iran following the death of Masha Amini on Sept. 16, 2022.

The Tampa Museum of Art's Parachute Gallery is a 160-square-foot gallery located in the historic Kress building in the heart of Ybor City.

The Parachute Gallery is nestled in a cluster of creative spaces on the Kress’s second-floor annex, including Tempus Projects’ Tempus Volta (satellite project space) and Drift (independent curators’ space), QUAID gallery, Department of Contemporary Art Tampa and Screen Door micro-cinema.

An exhibition and micro-retail space, the gallery's mission is to amplify the voices of artists from a diversity of backgrounds and life experiences, elevate crafts media in Tampa and nationally and highlight underrepresented regional artists and introduce fresh national artists to Tampa.

Regular gallery hours are Wednesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and by appointment.