Uprooted
Zahra Nazari

Uprooted, a new painting exhibition by Zahra Nazari, is a spotlight on the lives of immigrants through the unique lens of Nazari’s abstract art style. After performing a series of interviews and extensive research on the lives of specific immigrants in Queens, NY, she applied her passion, style, and shared experiences to their journeys to the US. The result is recognition of the immigrant’s paths and dreams through abstract architectural paintings. 

This exhibition demonstrates a divergence for the artist. The unseen forces of immigration have often influenced Zahra Nazari, herself being a recent Iranian immigrant to the US. Feelings of hope, fear, and displacement make their way into her subject matter, brush-strokes, and choices of color. This latest work’s goal is to create a visual empathy for the shared experiences of all immigrants. 

About the Artist
Zahra Nazari (b.1985 in Hamedan, Iran) attended State University of New York in New Paltz for her Masters degree in Painting, she received her Bachelors of Fine Arts degree from School of Art & Architecture in Tabriz, Iran. 

She has given artist talks and participated as a panelist at institutions including NYU, Columbia University, and Pratt Institute in New York City. She has been interviewed by and published in Hamptons Art Hub, ZH Magazine, Hyperallergic, and many more. Her work is included in private and public collections throughout the US, Canada, and Asia. 

Ms. Nazari has been a recipient of: the AIM Fellowship from the Bronx Museum, NY; the Mentoring Program from New York Foundation for the Arts, NY (NYFA); a Visiting Artist Fellowship from Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, MA (Mass MoCA); an Artist Residency Fellowship from The Cooper Union School of Art in New York City; an Artist Residency from Sculpture Space Residency in Utica, NY, and; an Artist Residency from the Vermont Studio Center, VT. Nazari has exhibited both nationally and internationally in galleries and museums including: the Bronx Museum, NY; Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, NY; MANA Contemporary, NJ; Spartanburg Art Museum, SC; Masur Museum of Art, LA; New York Academy of Art, NY; Denise Bibro Fine Art, NY; Boccara Art Gallery, NY; Painting Center, NY; A Center for Contemporary Art, NJ; Governors Island Art Fair, NY; Galerie Myrtis, MD; Illinois Institute of Art, IL; Manifest Gallery, IL; Woman Made Gallery, IL; China Millennium Monument, Beijing, China; Xuancheng Museum, Anhui, China; Lite-Haus Galerie, Berlin, Germany; Saba Institution, Tehran, Iran, and; Baran Gallery, Tehran, Iran.

For more about Zahra visit her website at https://zahranazari.com/ or follow her on Instagram.

Photo credit: Dino Reyes

This exhibition has been funded by the Queens Council on the Arts and the Puffin Foundation.