Santa Rosa Junior College RFA Art Gallery Visiting Artist Lecture Series presents Shiva Ahmadi on Wednesday October 11, 2023.

San Francisco Bay Area Iranian-American artist Shiva Ahmadi's practice borrows from the artistic traditions of Iran and the Middle East to critically examine global political tensions and social concerns. Ahmadi's art, deeply rooted in her personal experiences, address critical global issues, including political oppression, violence, immigration, and women's rights. Born in Tehran, Iran, in 1975, she came of age during the turbulent aftermath of the Iranian Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. She moved to the United States in 1998, and has been based in California since 2015.

Utilizing a variety of artistic mediums, such as painting, sculpture, and animation, Ahmadi explores her ideas from different angles. Her recent artwork marks a return to her foundational roots as a figurative painter. In these latest pieces, she works with female figures within vibrant landscapes, surrounded by exotic flora and fauna. This lush imagery is intriguingly contrasted with concealed black-and-white silk-screened images of ruins, resulting in a compelling exploration of the resilience and challenges faced by women.

Shiva Ahmadi studied at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI; Wayne State University, Detroit, MI; and Azad University, Tehran, Iran. In addition to recent solo exhibitions at Shrem Museum in Davis, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA and Asia Society Museum, New York, NY and Rosenfeld gallery in London; Ahmadi has been included in group shows at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, UK; Manetti Shrem Museum of Art; Davis, Ontario Museum of Arts in Toronto, Canada, the Orlando Museum of Art in Orlando, Florida, the Cranbrook Museum of Art, Michigan; Morgan Library & Museum, NYC; Rubin Museum of Art, New York, NY; Grey Art Gallery, New York University, NY; Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, Canada; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan; and Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha Qatar. Her work is collected by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA; Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA; Asia Society Museum, New York, NY; Grey Art Gallery, New York University, NY; Dallas Museum of Art, TX; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA; Detroit Institute of Arts, MI; and the DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, IL, among others.

http://www.shivaahmadistudio.com