Zahra Nazari

Zahra Nazari’s art explores the interplay of aesthetic traditions shaping the man-made world and probes the complexities of their relationship to our spiritual selves. Her distinctive body of work examines these tensions through the lens of experiences in the United States and her native Iran, drawing inspiration from a wide range of touchstones, from classical Persian architecture to the environmental installations of Louise Bourgeois.

Nazari's recent work has developed an explicitly inward-looking orientation. Her paintings on mylar and canvas investigate the form, movement, and color of interior spaces—both physical and psychological—embracing the infinite possibilities unlocked with even the subtlest shifts in mood or perspective. Grounded in Frederick Kiesler’s concept of “endless space,” Nazari inhabits a liminal borderland between representation and abstract expressionism, revealing new ways of engaging with the material world and the emotional resonances it inspires.

She has shared these themes in artist talks and panel discussions at institutions including NYU, Columbia University, Cooper Union, and Pratt Institute in New York City. Her work has been reviewed and published in Artefuse, Hamptons Art Hub, Hyperallergic, Whitehot Magazine, ZH Magazine, and more.

Nazari’s work is found in private and public collections worldwide, and she exhibits widely. Her exhibitions include venues such as The Bronx Museum of the Arts (New York); Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art (New Paltz, NY); Hollis Taggart Gallery (New York); High Line Nine Gallery (New York); MANA Contemporary (Jersey City, NJ); Spartanburg Art Museum (Spartanburg, SC); Masur Museum of Art (Monroe, LA); New York Academy of Art (New York); Denise Bibro Fine Art (New York); Illinois Institute of Art (Chicago); China Millennium Monument (Beijing, China); Lite-Haus Galerie (Berlin, Germany); Saba Institution (Tehran, Iran); and Baran Gallery (Tehran, Iran).

Nazari has also received a number of prestigious grants and fellowships, including a Creative Engagement Grant from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (New York); FST Studio Projects Fund (New York); the AIM Fellowship from the Bronx Museum (New York); and Visiting Artist Fellowships from MASS MoCA (North Adams, MA) and Cooper Union (New York). She has been an artist-in-residence at Sculpture Space (Utica, NY) and the Vermont Studio Center (Johnson, VT), among several others.

Nazari received her BFA from the School of Art & Architecture in Tabriz, Iran, and her MFA from the State University of New York at New Paltz in 2014


http://www.zahranazari.com/