Ramyar ValaRamyar Vala’s early practice was a graphic designer. Though still grounded in design and fabrication he started his research in tracking the functionality of crafted objects and the stories behind cultural ornamentation while he was completing his master’s degree at the University of Chicago. Ramyar’s multi-disciplinary practice explores the inner lives and circulation of traditional motifs— tracing how they travel, transform, are adapted, and are appropriated trans-nationally and trans-culturally — through sculpture, installation, and video work. His work has been shown in the Louvre (Paris), the New Museum (New York), Museum of Contemporary Photography (Chicago), EXPO Chicago, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco), among others.