Zahra Nazari ~ Worldview at Gallery 180 ...in its Final Days

"Mapping" acrylic on canvas, 48” x 30” 

There are just a few more days to visit the Worldview Exhibition at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago. The exhibition includes work by nine artists from around the country... all defining their individual perceptions of the world in which we share. "Mapping" is one of two paintings by Zahra Nazari, included in the exhibition to benefit Worldview Education and Care. Her rich painterly style presents an abstract composition of man-made cityscapes as seen from above. Nazari explains...

The visual richness found in the structural patterns of architecture, both ancient and modern, especially in its relationship with the surrounding landscape, is the starting point of all my work.

I paint abstract urbanscapes that resemble city maps; they contain aerial views, distorted perspectives, and combinations of different architectural time periods containing both observed and imaginary disjointed places. Sometimes the images baffle even me. I am attracted to this since of ambiguity because it draws the viewer deeper into my imagery.

My mind aims for inventiveness in the painting process, passing time, worn surfaces, surprising shapes, and the mechanics of memory. I aspire to an underlying feeling of complexity and exploration in all of my work.

The Worldview exhibition will close on Friday, January 11th. It's an excellent collection of pieces and  all works are available for purchase with a portion of the proceeds donated to Worldview Education and Care. Gallery 180 is located at 180 N. Wabash... the corner of Lake and Wabash in Chicago's Loop.

Zahra Nazari received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from the School of Art & Architecture, Tabriz, Iran in July 2007. She is currently an MFA candidate in Painting/Drawing at SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz, NY and was a recipient of both a graduate scholarship and a teaching assistantship from the Memphis College of Art. Her recent exhibitions include the “6th Annual Master Pieces” at Manifest Gallery and “Reroot” at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center, both in Cincinnati, Ohio; “Twenty in Their Twenties” at Woman Made Gallery and “Wet Paint” at Zhou B Art Center, both in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was an artist in resident at The International School of Painting, Drawing & Sculpture, Umbria, Italy. In addition she is the recipient of a grant from the Vermont Studio School in Johnson, Vermont.
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