About

Gallery of ma. is a space and a community where artists and designers unite to share their vision and story through their creativity. They share a common reverence for quietude, the necessary ingredient for the reflection and absorption of an experience.

Art Consulting

Interior Design

Interior Architecture

Creative Direction

Product Design

Founded by Apama Shahrzad, the Gallery of ma. is a firm of interdisciplinary creatives who embrace the ethos and essence of ma to curate and share a common reverence for art, design and culture.

Concept of ma

The art and praxis of design is carefully considered and never rushed. Intuition and sensory experience provide direction together with the fundamental elements of design and reasoning. The essential underpinnings of composition are the spaces in between, with perceived gaps being equally as – if not more – vital to the composition than the objects that reside in it. This ethos of design is deeply rooted in the Japanese concept of “ma” (間).

ma permeates all aspects of living and existence. It has been described as a pause in time, an interval in thought or the material void. It has less to do with the physicalities within a room, incorporating a recognition of the living which ‘take place’ in a particular space – the ways through which space is purposed and repurposed by individuals passing by.

Apama Shahrzad is a Toronto-based artist and designer with vast experience and professional training spanning the fine arts, interior design, and interior architecture. In the fine arts, Apama challenges the boundaries of traditional media, through contrasts, textures, and depths. Her artistry invites and transports observers to the frontiers of human cognition where the subconscious and the sublime are rendered bare before the eyes. It is this same vision that Apama channels into interior design, enmeshing the tailored, timeless, and classic with inflections of the bold and the unexpected. The result is design that becomes one with art through the symbiosis of the jarring and serene. People-focused and dedicated to excellence in service and craftsmanship, Apama creates aesthetic spaces where the landscapes, histories, culture, and identities that contour her client find tasteful expression. For over 15 years, she's led residential interior design, including several multi-million-dollar projects based in Canada and the United States. From small-scale projects to end-to-end design, Apama engages with the needs of her clientele to reimagine place – the product of space and time.

Nelly Molaie is a Toronto based Designer who holds a Bachelor’s degree in Interior Design from Humber College.

Nelly embraces the history behind design while practicing the ethos and essence of ma; transforming interiors and creating distinct spaces unique to our clients. For her good design is a mixture of many contradictions, one that is simple yet complex.

Mehrdad Sadat

Designer

Mehrdad Sadat is a Toronto Based Interior designer. His background is in fine arts and holds a bachelor’s degree in interior design.

He believes an alluring design follows function, and function creates space and form. He uses principles of art and design to create unique and harmonious spaces.