Bio

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 the 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 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. 

Ms. Nazari has given artist talks and participated as a panelist at institutions such as 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 had been a recipient of The AIM Fellowship from the Bronx Museum, The Mentoring Program from New York Foundation for the Arts; a Visiting Artist Fellowship from Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, The Cooper Union School of Art in New York City and Vermont Studio Center. She has exhibited both nationally and internationally in galleries and museums such as Bronx Museum, NY; China Millennium Monument, Beijing, China; Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, New Paltz, NY; Saba Institution, Tehran, Iran, and the Spartanburg Art Museum in Spartanburg, SC.

Events

No given info

Exhibitions

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2017    

Von Fraunberg Art Gallery, Düsseldorf, Germany

Five Points Gallery, Torrington, CT

MS17 Art Project, New London, CT  

Transformation, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Williamsport, PA

2016

Vanishing Point, Gallery Aferro, Newark, NJ

Transformations, Betsy Meyer Memorial Exhibition, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA

2015      

Metamorphosis, Mooney Center Gallery, The College of New Rochelle, NY

Urabn Facade, MAISON des ARTISTES, The Griffis Art Center, New London, CT

Restoration, Louis Jones Brown Gallery, Duke University, Durham, NC

2014      

Inside Out, Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Arts Center, Silver Spring, MD

Deconstructing Scapes, Hartnett Gallery, University of Rochester, NY

2013      

Selected Work, Gallery I, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT

Urban Memories, Shainberg Gallery, Jewish Community Center, Memphis, TN

Selected Group Exhibitions

2017      

AIM 2017 Biennale, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY

Tirgan Biennale, Toronto, CA

Small Works, National Association of Women Artists, New York, NY

2016

Borderless: In Perspective, Lite-Haus Galerie, Berlin, Germany

Navigating Intersectionality: (De)Constructing Our Identities, Ninth Annual Mid-Atlantic, The Gallery at the Greenly Center, Bloomsburg, PA

Imaginary Places, Montclair Public Library Gallery, Montclair, NJ

Futuristic Fabrication, Jamaica Center, Jamaica, NY

Restart, Tyler Art Gallery, Oswego, NY

(Un)Common Space(s), Spartanburg Art Museum, Spartanburg, SC

2015      

Spatial Planes & Timeless Dimensions, Falcon Power (Curators: Akaash Mehta & Minna Packer) New York, NY

Silk Journey to Art, World Tour Exhibition, The China Millennium Monument, Beijing, China

Metamorphosis, The Cooper Union School of Art, New York, NY

Borrowed Paths, Broken Rules, Gowanus Ballroom (Curator: George Sferra), Brooklyn, NY

Travelling Exhibit, Craft Center & SAC Art Gallery, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY

Exodus, LuminArte Gallery, Dallas, TX

Tenth Annual Crossing the Bridge, Hygienic Art Gallery (Curator: Sam Quigley), New London, CT

2014      

Art Maryland 2014, Howard County Arts Council (Curator: Julia Mariciari-Alexander), Ellicott City, MD

3rd Annual Juried International Exhibition of Contemporary Islamic Art, LuminArte Gallery, Dallas, TX

Emergence 2014: International Artists to Watch, Galerie Myrtis (Curators: Deana Haggag &Sharon Burton), Baltimore, MD

PINNACLE 2014, Foster Tanner Fine Arts Gallery, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL

Points of Departure, MFA Thesis Exhibition, Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, New Paltz, NY

51st Annual Juried Competition, Masur Museum of Art (Curator: Kelly Shindler), Monroe, LA

Ardent Rift, Kingston Museum of Contemporary Art, Kingston, NY

2013      

Abstract Paintings, SUNY Global Center, New York, NY

Special Guests? SUNY New Paltz, Arts Society of Kingston, Kingston, NY

AIR Exhibit, Erpf Gallery, Catskill Center, Arkville, NY

Relevant 2013 Show, Kimball Art Center, Park City, UT

Working it out, Painting Center (Curators: Mona Brody, Alyce Gottesman, and Jo Ann Rothschild), New York, NY

ViewPoints 2013, Aljira, A Center for Contemporary Art (Curator: Helaine Posner) Newark, NJ

Nation, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

I am Tahmineh, Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA

2012    

Worldview, Gallery 180, Illinois Institute of Art (Curator: Chuck Gniech), Chicago, IL

Collector Exchange Exhibit, The Yard Event Center, Park City, UT

Summer Show, Galleria ISA, Umbria, Italy

6th Annual Master Pieces, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH

Summer Show, Hyde Gallery, Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN

Reroot, Clifton Cultural Arts Center (Curator: Missy Miller), Cincinnati, OH

The 100 Show, Wieden+Kennedy Gallery, Portland, OR

Draw Color Line, Germantown Performing Arts Centre, Memphis, TN

National Wet Paint, Zhou B Art Center (Curator: Sergio Gomez), Chicago, IL

Twenty in Their Twenties, Woman Made Gallery (Curator: Betsy Odom), Chicago, IL

2009    

Color of Kindness, Iranian Center for International Conferences, Tehran, Iran

2008    

Youth Art, 4th Visual Arts Festival, Tehran, Iran

2006      

Islamic World, 4th International Painting Biennial, Saba Institution, Tehran, Iran

More info

Awards / Grants

2016

Artist Residency Fellowship, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCA), North Adams, MA

Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program, NYFA, Brooklyn, NY

First Friday Artist Residency Program, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Jamaica, NY

Artist in the Marketplace (AIM), The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY

Meyer Family Award for Contemporary Art, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA

2015  

Teaching Artist Residency Fellowship, Cooper Union School of Art, New York, NY

Artist Residency MAISON des ARTISTES, The Griffis Art Center, New London, CT

Ruth Katzman Scholarship, The League Residency at Vyt, Sparkill, NY

Van Lier Residency Fellowship, Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art at Snug Harbor, Staten Island, NY

2014

Visiting Artist in Residence, Montgomery College, (AIR) Fall Semester, Silver Spring, MD?

Exhibition Award Art Maryland 2014, Howard County Arts Council, Ellicott City, MD

Best in Show PINNACLE National Juried Art Competition 2014, Foster Tanner Fine Arts Gallery, Florida A&M University                                       Tallahassee, FL

2013  

Artists-in-Residence, Platte Clove, Arkville, NY?

Artist Residency Grant, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT?

Scholarship Award, Iranian American Academics and Professionals, Montgomery Community College, Rockville, MD

Research and Creative Project Award, State University of New York, New Paltz, NY

Exhibition Award ViewPoints 2013, Aljira, A Center for Contemporary Art, Newark, NJ

Artist Residency Grant, State University of New York, New Paltz, NY

David Lavallee Travel Grant, State University of New York, New Paltz, NY

1st Showcase winner ArtSlant.com

2012

Artist Residency Fellowship, Relevant 2012, Kimball Art Center, Park City, UT?

Artist Residency, The International School of Painting, Drawing, & Sculpture, Umbria, Italy?

Conference Grant, State University of New York, New Paltz, NY

Research Grant, State University of New York, New Paltz, NY

Graduate Scholarship, State University of New York, New Paltz, NY