About

When you think about art, the concept is subjective. Our experience, exposure, and interests compile into a picture that is of course, personal. For Simon Ghahary, art is not constrained to a boxed canvas with a few layers of paint or an animate sculpture. Instead, he creates dynamic forms out of what he has uniquely digested from the world around him, from the intricacies of sound to the wonder-filled shapes and colors of nature.

Born in Brighton, England, Ghahary's roots and travels around the world have informed his innovative work. Since his youth, he has collected experiences from all over, including those from his time in London, Europe, Dubai, Hong Kong, Japan, and now, where he resides in Southern California. His creativity was insatiable even in his adolescent years, inspired by eccentric, psychedelic music and otherworldly illustrations in comic books. At just 13, Ghahary found himself sketching numerous Grateful Dead cassette covers for a devout fan's private collection, itself an immersion into the psychedelic culture of the 60's. As most artists who are looking to make a living, Ghahary took to design as his primary form of work. Though he was producing for major brands, he stayed entirely true to his values as an artist. His work, though beautiful, was intended to seamlessly marry excellent design and function for the user.

“My career has allowed me to construct design and brand identity from all angles. As a multidisciplinary designer, my primary focus is to make useful things and tell stories of how and why. As an artist, my forms emerge from the heart and set out to inspire connection, encourage user interaction, and support functional innovation in whatever technical capacity. “

—GHAHARY

From personal electronics and musicians to luxury goods, Ghahary's diverse portfolio of clients allows him to create from all angles of design. He looks at each project holistically with an unexpected approach, often taking everyday items and inverting preconceived notions to create a product that provides a fantastic user experience yet also looks like a piece that could be found in a museum.

Unlike many industrial designers, Ghahary thinks beyond the surface of a well-designed product to build captivating brand experiences. With each object, he encourages a lifestyle and culture of use that deeply resonates to foster brand loyalty. During his time heading up the brand Blue Room, followers often expressed that they felt like they were part of a "secret club," confirming Ghahary's intent of creating a speaker that spoke to a specific demographic of music enthusiasts.

As a designer and brand architect, he has designed products and served as a Creative Director for highly successful names like Pod Loudspeakers, Lexus, Life Water, and Raw Coffee. In addition, he co-founded innovative brands such as Si-Fi, Blue Room, and TAO Clean, bringing together his creative skillset with his understanding of branding. Each project has its own personality but is tied together with Ghahary's innate sense of technology, sound, and form. His cultural experience has encouraged him to cultivate art within everyday objects and create designs that seamlessly meld into the surrounding culture. With these thoughtful products, he gives life to an atmosphere that emulates brand identity, allowing the user to be completely immersed.

As his work has evolved with the times, Ghahary has continued to straddle the line of past inspiration and future technologies. Influenced by the electronic music scene "acid house" and the revolutionary artistic movements of the 60s and 70s, he stays true to the unconventional. Aside from his love of music, Ghahary discovered a deep passion for all things Science Fiction and the esoteric. He drew inspiration from the innate human desire to create meaning out of nothing and the ever-present hero narrative in cultural stories. With this, Ghahary would go on to leverage a fascination of myth and integrate this into his work. He wished to convey the resilience of the human condition while exploring the power of sound and technology in a futuristic age. This is what led him to delve deeper into the world of intricate sounds and the forms in which they lived.

Soon, Ghahary's love for sound would go beyond 2D and enter into the world of 3D, tangible forms.

While experimenting with his first sound systems and sculptural art in the early 90s, Ghahary crossed paths with the renowned B&W Speakers. The discovery of B&W speakers, Research & Development or rather the contents of the skip outside, inspired Simon to experiment with loudspeaker components using various materials, all recovered from the company’s scrap heap. Also, at this time, he started to create organic, curved designs to house the components that he had salvaged. Most importantly, it was here that he learned the fundamental rules that influenced all of his speaker designs. These included the understanding that speakers do not necessarily need square box-type enclosures to work and that round enclosures could improve sound quality and performance.

Here, he began to develop an understanding of sound that would lead him to Blue Room Loudspeakers. In those days of Hi-Fi, speaker designs were limited to basic square boxes revered only for their sound, not their appearance. Ghahary discovered that the projection of sound could, in fact, be housed in elegant, curvaceous forms that were pleasing to the eye while enhancing musical quality. When founding Blue Room, he hoped that these speakers would become an iconic shape synonymous with electronic music in the same way a Marshall Stack was synonymous with the rock genre.

It wasn't long before Blue Room became a pioneer in the electronic scene. They ventured into the entertainment side of sound, creating a label that sought to find talented electronic artists from around the globe who had yet to be discovered. Ghahary signed the musicians and was responsible for A&R, curating music while also providing vinyl artwork and marketing materials for the bands. Each group had a distinct origin and sound that Ghahary would then shape into a strong identity. Once he established their core voice, he could capture their essence visually. Ghahary oversaw the direction of Blue Room, elevating it to a renowned name in the electronic scene.  

Sound is still a cornerstone in Ghahary's work as he returns to his true artistic endeavors. This time, it's inspired by the moment of the Big Bang, or the expansion, when all that we know came into existence. His collected skills and knowledge have converged in his solo art, as he creates for a different audience that is gallery-focused and void of the expectations that come with designing for a client. Ghahary has created a series of art entitled "From the Abyss Came the Cosmos Itself," which visually explores the intersection of movement, light, colors, and space. The subject straddles the union of science and the supernatural. Fusing together fragments of his expertise, each digitally composed piece is a vibrantly pigmented explosion that is saturated with feeling, allowing the viewer to engage with symbolism and meaning that personally resonates.

Echoing this brilliant collection of sculptural pieces and 2D works, Ghahary continues to grow as an evoking artist. His latest venture is an exquisite culmination of his history, disciplines, and passions. In this installation, Ghahary will explore the complexities of and interactions with soundscapes and sculpture while playing with the balance of chaos and harmony. Deeply personal, Ghahary's most recent work will stay true to his "functional art" mantra while settling into the high-end art world.

From design and branding to immersive art that asks audiences to ponder beyond the surface, Ghahary has proven himself to be a prominent creative mind. Each step of his career and his passions have significantly informed his work as it progresses. Ghahary is a visionary who brings relevance to nostalgia and sheds fascinating light on the mysteries of tomorrow.