November 16, 2016, by Dan Mims- "When we featured him last November, local sculptor Mohamad Hafez was steeped in profound turmoil, watching from afar as his homeland, Syria, was torn apart by civil war. His architectural artwork, which he’d started years before with modest, lightly textured facades of Syrian buildings—meant to be a salve for simple homesickness—had evolved into large, technically refined cityscapes and abstractions imbued with sharp emotional and moral content. A year (and a new studio space) later, the works have gotten larger, more refined and sharper, right along with his inner anguish. As the war in Syria continues, he’s also watched his adopted homeland, America, endure a scorched-earth political season, whose resulting president-elect has openly stoked fear of immigrants and Muslims—so, people like Hafez.