Four Persian American artists are showing work in porcelain, ink, wood, glass, fiber and light at Ovissi Boutique on Democracy Drive, with the free exhibition running through Oct. 5.

"States of Being: 2026 Ovissi Foundation Awardees Exhibition" opened Sunday, Sept. 13, at 11932 Democracy Drive, near Reston Town Center. The show features pieces created between 2023 and 2025 by Farzad Kohan, Ali Masoumzadeh, Sanaz Safanasab and Aida Izadpanah, Patch reported Sept. 13.

The four artists explore themes of memory, identity, migration and transformation.

"States of Being reflects our commitment to supporting artists whose work expands how Persian American experiences are seen, understood, and shared," Tamika Martin of the Ovissi Foundation said in a statement reported by Patch.

The Ovissi Foundation, founded by Maryam Ovissi, has awarded grants to U.S.-based artists of Iranian heritage for five years. Its awards page lists three current grant categories: the $1,000 Ovissi Artist Award, the $1,000 Modern Craft-Ceramic Award and the $1,500 Master's of Fine Arts Scholarship. The foundation plans to add new award categories in 2027, according to Patch, though the details of the expansion could not be independently confirmed.

Maryam Ovissi is the daughter of Nasser Ovissi, an Iranian American painter and sculptor who settled in Reston in the 1980s. Nasser Ovissi is known as a leader in Saqqakhaneh, a contemporary Iranian art movement that began in the 1960s. The boutique occupies the former PNC Bank storefront at 11932 Democracy Drive and showcases work by 20 other Iranian artists, according to FFXnow. Sales benefit the foundation's grant programs.

"Without supporting the arts, the arts will not progress and have space to exist," Maryam Ovissi told FFXnow in October 2025, when the boutique first opened.

An opening reception was held Saturday, Sept. 12. The exhibition is open noon to 8 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays and noon to 7 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 5.

Admission is free.

Upcoming Reston community events:

  • "States of Being" exhibition at Ovissi Boutique, 11932 Democracy Drive, through Oct. 5. Free admission.