Artist Statement Artist Statement: My artwork examines how people and spaces become polarized as a result of binary divisions. During my formative years, Beirut was characterized by perpetual conflict—political alliances shifted regularly, often culminating in armed clashes. Those who shared geographical and socioeconomic markers of identity with political factions were seen as being a part […]
Articles posted by amazzaschi
Nezaket Ekici
Artist Statement Lifting a Secret (2009). Still from performance at the Claire Oliver Gallery, New York. Courtesy of the Claire Oliver Gallery, New York, and the artist. Artist Statement: The idea, the thought, the draft are the bases for my artwork. My ideas come from everyday-life situations, social and cultural atmospheres. The idea expresses itself in […]
Parastou Farouhar
Artist Statement Parastou Farouhar, Ashura Butterfly, from the seven-part series Butterfly, 2010 Digital print on photo paper, 39 3/8 × 39 3/8 in. Courtesy of the RH Gallery, New York, and the artist. Artist Statement: The production of identity, and the repressive mechanisms by which it is reified, comprise the focus of my work. My homeland, Iran, is […]
Shadi Ghadirian
Artist Statement From the series Miss Butterfly (2011) Fifteen photographs, each 27 ½ x 39 3/8 in. (70 x 100 cm). Courtesy of the artist. Artist Statement: Miss Butterfly is going to meet the sun; as she is looking for a way out and reaching for the light, she becomes caught in a spider’s web. Moved […]
Ariane Littman
Artist Statement Shredded Land (2011), from the Wounded Land series (2009-12). Papier mache made from Closures Maps of the West Bank & Jerusalem (July 2004), 64 × 55 cm. Photo by Udi Katzman. Courtesy of the artist. Artist Statement: Wounded Land grew out of a series of artworks called Border Land, created in 2000–07. Witnessing the violence, new walls, […]
Negar Ahkami
Artist Statement The Source (2009). Acrylic and glitter on gessoed panel, 48 × 54 in. Photo by Adam Reich. © Negar Ahkami. Courtesy of Jasanna and John Britton and the artist. Artist Statement: My paintings draw inspiration from Iran’s patterned-art traditions and elaborate blue-tiled mosques. I apply multiple layers of congealed gesso and acrylic mediums, and […]
Shirin Neshat
Artist Statement Rebellious Silence (1994). B&W RC print & ink, photo by Cynthia Preston. Copyright Shirin Neshat. Courtesy Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels. Artist Statement: In 1993-97, I produced my first body of work, a series of stark black-and-white photographs entitled Women of Allah, conceptual narratives on the subject of female warriors during the Iranian […]
Reza Farkhondeh and Ghada Amer
Artist Statement Reza Farkhondeh and Ghada Amer, Apples and Petunias (2011). Watercolor and embroidery on paper, 51.5 x 82.5 inches. Courtesy Cheim & Read, New York. Artist Statement: GHADA: The first question is, how can one “write” painting in the feminine? Then there is the question of beauty: how to convey an emotion and a feeling of […]
Laila Shawa
Artist Statement Laila Shawa, Night and the City (2008). Acrylic on canvas, 39 3/8 x 78 3/4 in. Photo by Joanna Vestey. Courtesy of the artist. Artist Statement: Growing up in the Middle East, where many diverse cultures live in close proximity, I learned to speak several different languages. Speaking different languages helps one understand how complex problems […]
Fatimah Tuggar
Artist Statement Fatimah Tuggar, Robo Makes Dinner (2000). Computer montage (inkjet on vinyl), 108 × 45 in. Courtesy of BintaZarah Studios, New York. Artist Statement: Borrowing from the realms of advertising, popular entertainment, folklore, and the experiential, I use technology as medium, subject, and metaphor. My goal is to explore the diverse effects of power […]