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Shiva Ahmadi
Born1975 (age 48–49)
Tehran, Iran
Alma mater
  • Azad University, BFA
  • Wayne State University, MFA
  • Cranbrook Academy of Arts, MFA
Known forDrawing, Painting, Animation

Shiva Ahmadi (born 1975) is an Iranian-American artist known for her paintings, videos and installations, which have been exhibited at galleries and museums in North America and the Middle East.

Biography

Ahmadi was born in Tehran, Iran in 1975.[1][2] Her upbringing, which is reflected in her art, was marked by the Iranian Revolution and the Iran–Iraq War.[3] She obtained a bachelor of fine art from Azad University in 1998 and right after moved to USA to pursue her graduate studies.[4][5] She completed her first MFA in drawing from Wayne State University in 2003.[2] The same year she attended an artist residency at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.[6]In 2005 Ahmadi obtained her second MFA, in painting, at the Cranbrook Academy of Art.[5] Ahmadi was appointed as an Associate Professor of Art at the University of California, Davis in 2015.[7][2]

Career

Ahmadi’s practice borrows from the artistic traditions of Iran and the Middle East to critically examine contemporary political tensions. Incorporating cultural symbols Ahmadi has taken a critical look at current social and political issues.[8]

Intricate in nature her work often mirrors the visually rich and patterned design of Persian miniatures, with embedded details regarding war, corruption or religion, becoming apparent only upon closer inspection.[2][1][8] Known for her achievements in painting, her later career has been marked by the use of video-animation.[2][4] Her latest animation titled Ascend (2017) was inspired by the death of Aylan Kurdi and Syrian refugee crisis in 2015.[9][10]

Her animation "Lotus" (2014) was praised by many art critics and exhibited in different galleries and museums. "The work brings into focus her earlier Throne series — also included in the exhibition — that features a faceless, blood-covered ruler. A mesmerizing rumination on power, “Lotus” shows the Buddha, traditionally perceived as a peaceful figure, gradually transforming into a tyrant. Along the way, his garden, which is initially replete with chirping birds and playful monkeys tossing colorful balls, becomes splattered with blood (the balls prove to be bombs). With a rising crescendo of oil pipes pumping their poisonous content into the garden, Ahmadi poetically yet forcefully comments on the challenges of autocratic leadership and the impact of the oil economy on a country where public gardens and private courtyards are the sanctuary and spatial pulse of everyday life."[11]

Ahmadi's work is included in the collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the Asia Society Museum, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the DePaul Art Museum, the Morgan Library, the Asian Art Museum in San Fransisco, the TDIC Corporate Collection in the United Arab Emirates, and the Farjam Collection in Dubai.[7][4] Her piece Pipes was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2014.[12]

Exhibitions

  • 2017- Ascend, Leila Heller Gallery, New York, NY[10]
  • 2017 - Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Persians - Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, Ontario[13][14]
  • 2016 - Global/Local 1960–2015: Six Artists from Iran - Grey Art Gallery, New York, City[15][16]
  • 2016 - Homeland Security, For-Site Foundation, San Francisco[17]
  • 2016 - Spheres of Suspension, Charles B. Wang Center, New York, NY[18]
  • 2014 - Shiva Ahmadi: In Focus - Asia Society, New York City[12][1]
  • 2013 - Apocalyptic Playland - Leila Heller Gallery, New York City
  • 2010 - Shiva Ahmadi: Reinventing the Poetics of Myth - Leila Heller Gallery, New York City[8]

Awards

  • 2009- Kresge Artist Fellowship, Kresge Foundation

References

  1. ^ a b c "Shiva Ahmadi: In Focus". Asia Society. 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e Sheets, Hilarie M. (8 February 2016). "Shiva Ahmadi's Subversive Beauty". Introspective Magazine. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  3. ^ Mallonee, Laura C. (14 July 2014). "Using Beauty to Examine Ugly Political Truths". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "Shiva Ahmadi". www.leilahellergallery.com. Leila Heller Gallery. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Shiva Ahmadi". Kresge Arts in Detroit. Kresge Arts in Detroit. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  6. ^ "Shiva Ahmadi: Solo Exhibition at Asia Society Museum, NYC". stamps.umich.edu. Stamps School of Art & Design. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Shiva Ahmadi". arts.ucdavis.edu. UC Davis Arts. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  8. ^ a b c Villarreal, Ignacio (2010). "New Paintings and Oil Barrels by Shiva Ahmadi at Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller". artdaily.com. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  9. ^ "Shiva Ahmadi Combines The Beautiful And The Violent". Harper's BAZAAR Arabia. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  10. ^ a b "Shiva Ahmadi: Ascend - Exhibitions - Leila Heller Gallery". www.leilahellergallery.com. Leila Heller Gallery. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  11. ^ https://hyperallergic.com/284304/tracing-tradition-in-a-survey-of-six-iranian-artists/
  12. ^ a b Rooney, Julia. "A Closer Look: Shiva Ahmadi's Pipes". The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum. The Met. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  13. ^ "Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Persians". Aga Khan Museum. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  14. ^ Gairola, Vibhu (10 February 2017). "A look at the splendid, politically charged pieces at the Aga Khan Museum's massive new Iranian art exhibition". Toronto Life. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  15. ^ "Global/Local 1960–2015: Six Artists from Iran - Grey Gallery". Grey Gallery. 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  16. ^ Cotter, Holland (14 January 2016). "Six Artists From Iran at Grey Art Gallery". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  17. ^ "Home Land Security". www.for-site.org. FOR-SITE Foundation. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  18. ^ "Past Exhibitions". www.stonybrook.edu. Charles B. Wang Centre. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  19. ^ "2016 Award Winners". Anonymous Was A Woman Award. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  20. ^ "Shiva Ahmadi and Sonya Clark Named a 2016 Recipient of the "Anonymous Was A Woman" Award". Cranbrook Academy of Art. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2017.

External links

"Artist Profile: Shiva Ahmadi". Asia Society. 23 June 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2017.

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shiva_Ahmadi&oldid=797572917

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