Artist Lecture: Nazafarin Lotfi
@ University Galleries of Illinois State University
11 Uptown Circle, Normal, IL 61761
Opening Wednesday, September 21st, from 12PM - 1PM
On view through Sunday, October 16th
Join us at University Galleries for a free public lecture by exhibiting artist Nazafarin Lotfi. A public reception for the artist will take place later in the day, from 4-6 p.m.
A Garden to Build presents new drawings, sculptures, photographs, and prints by Tucson-based artist Nazafarin Lotfi. The artist’s practice is rooted in her experiences of growing up in post-Revolutionary Iran and continuing her education and artistic career as an immigrant in the United States. Lotfi cites the body, the house, the garden, and the nation as “some of the enclosures that define the self and other, inclusion and exclusion, access and belonging.” In her newest works, the artist explores her current location through the lens of garden-making, which, she points out, has a 5,000-year history in her culture. Read more on the exhibition webpage.
Nazafarin Lotfi: A Garden to Build is curated by Kendra Paitz, University Galleries’ director and chief curator. This exhibition is supported by University Galleries’ grants from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, Alice and Fannie Fell Trust, Harold K. Sage Foundation, and the Illinois State University Foundation Fund.
Artist biography
Nazafarin Lotfi was born in Mashhad, Iran, and is based in Tucson, Arizona. She is currently the Matakyev Research Fellow at the Center for Imagination in the Borderlands at Arizona State University. Her work has been exhibited at Artpace, San Antonio; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson; Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix; The Suburban, Milwaukee; Brand New Gallery, Milan; Ana Cristea Gallery, New York City; DUVE Berlin, Berlin; soon.tw, Montreal; Everybody Gallery, Tucson; and The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Artists Coalition, Logan Center at the University of Chicago, Arts Club of Chicago, Regards, Arts Incubator, The Franklin, Goldfinch, Andrew Rafacz Gallery, and Ralph Arnold Gallery, all in Chicago. Lotfi has been awarded artist residencies by the Arts + Public Life and Center for the Study of Race, Politics, & Culture at the University of Chicago, and Artpace International. She has received grants from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, Phoenix Art Museum, Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona, and the city of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. She received both her MFA and her post-baccalaureate certificate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her B.A. from University of Tehran. Her work is represented by Regards, Chicago.
Official Website
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Tags: A Garden to Build, IL, Nazafarin Lotfi, Normal, University Galleries of Illinois State University
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