My large-scale abstracted architectural paintings and installations are formed by ideas about identity, immigration issues, and how globalization is changing our perceptions. My environment has always been the most significant influence on my work: first in my home country of Iran; and later upon emigrating to the United States, where I developed an evolving identity as an immigrant that informs my work beyond physical space. The Iranian city of Hamadan, where I was raised, dates back to 1100 BC. There the modern and ancient worlds coexist in constant flux; contemporary structures rise alongside archaeological sites of historical significance. I became fascinated by the way that cities and urban structures affect, connect, and separate their inhabitants. In my work, the deconstructed and fragmented forms of architectural structures collide with themes of time, memory, erosion, and degradation. Persian architectural icons find their way into my work alongside postmodern sites from the Western world. Vibrant brushstrokes merge these structures with organic forms, creating floating and shifting environments where realism meets abstraction, where the clarity of imagined futures rises from the blur of our pasts.

About Zahra Nazari

Zahra Nazari was born in Hamedan, Iran to a family of architectural enthusiasts. Her brother is an architect and her father frequently brought her to architectural dig sites to admire ancient history and artifacts. Throughout her entire life, she has pursued a career as a visual artist on the foundation of this inspiration from her youth. She left Iran in 2011 in order to pursue her master’s studies in art in the US. She has since traveled the world to take inspiration from architecture in many other cultures. Her large-scale abstracted architectural paintings are formed by ideas about identity, immigration issues, and how globalization is changing our perceptions. 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 Creative Engagement Grant from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, 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.