Keeley Healing Arts Gallery at Melrose features local artist Mohammad Kouchai

The Wellness Wing at Melrose Plaza is home to several Healing Arts initiatives including a rotating art gallery that aims to celebrate the artistry of neighbors in NW Roanoke. This past March, we launched our third exhibit featuring the work of local artist Mohammad Kouchai titled "Displaced Artist: A Reflection".

Afghanistan was once a home where Mohammad thrived as a professional artist. After graduating from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Kabul University, he became a renowned painter, muralist, and Eastern Classical musician. When the war in Afghanistan heightened, Mohammad and his family suffered tremendous loss. Through it all, he maintained his passion for art and service, often working with American troops, the American embassy, and the United Nations Assistance Mission to help promote humanitarian aid and peace. Decades after experiencing the devastation of war and being uprooted from his home, Mohammad now seeks to use his art to remind people of the beauty that still exists in the world around us.

"A lot of what I generate is inspired by themes all humans care about—identity, memory, love, loss, nature, technology, and dreams. I remix and reinterpret those themes visually and verbally. I want the viewer to see the beauty of nature reflected in my work."

Mohammad's artwork is available for purchase! If interested in supporting his work or purchasing a piece of his art, please contact Mohammad at kouchai420@gmail.com and check out his exhibit on display in the Wellness Wing of Melrose Plaza until June 22nd.

If you have questions about Carilion Clinic's Keeley Healing Arts Program, please contact program manager, Lisa Linger at lmlinger@carilionclinic.org.

All photography featured in this post is by Carilion photographer, Scott Yates.