Alumni Assemble Show on Iranian Identity

Kimia Maleki (MA 2016) curated the show Sedentary Fragmentation, on view at Heaven Gallery until August 25. The show features nine Iranian alumni—a mixture of Iran-born artists as well as American-raised graduates who share a common cultural language. Those artists are Hannibal Alkhas (MFA 1959), Mehdi Hosseini (BFA 1968), Raha Raissnia (BFA 1992), Azadeh Gholizadeh (MFA 2012), Yasamin Ghanbari (MFA 2010), Nazafarin Lotfi (Post-Bac 2009, MFA 2011), Elnaz Javani (MFA 2015), Maryam Hoseini (MFA 2016), and Sophie Loloi (BFA 2016). Together, they display the variety and complexity of cultural production informed by Iranian heritage while challenging the idea of a singular "Iranian" way of making art. A conversation about the show with Iranian artist Hadi Fallahpisheh and SAIC alum George Olken (MFA 2017) is published on Bad at Sports, check it out here.