Pippy Houldsworth Gallery is delighted to announce representation of Iranian-American artist Nasim Hantehzadeh (b. 1988, Stillwater, Oklahoma), whose first solo exhibition in Europe will take place at the gallery from 18 November 2022 – 7 January 2023.
Working in oil, pastel and graphite, across both canvas and paper, Hantehzadeh brings together freewheeling figurative elements in vibrant and arresting compositions that allude to a range of references, including Paleolithic cave paintings, indigenous art from Mexico, Islamic architecture and ancient Persian rug patterns. Hantehzadeh’s work often reflects her particular interest in Mayan and pre-Islamic art and artefacts, occasioned by evidence of matriarchal and gender-fluid practices that existed in these cultures prior to European colonisation. Embellished orifices and sexual organs proliferate Hantehzadeh’s work, transfigured from the corporeal to the otherworldly in an earthy palette that complements her biomorphic and abstract forms.
Nasim Hantehzadeh lives and works in Los Angeles. She studied a BA at the University of Tehran Center for Art and Architecture in 2007; in 2013 she received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and an MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2018.
photo: Morgan Waltz