Shiva Ahmadi: Strands of Resilience

Shiva Ahmadi: Strands of Resilience

UC Davis Professor of Art Shiva Ahmadi uses painting as a form of storytelling, combining luminous colors and mystical beings with violent imagery to draw attention to global issues of migration, war and brutality against marginalized peoples. Focusing on the female figure, this exhibition of all new paintings — Ahmadi’s first midcareer solo museum exhibition on the West Coast — continues her exploration of alternate worlds where women have agency beyond the binary of the beautiful victim or ugly villain. Through her experimentation with the medium of watercolor, Ahmadi probes what lies hidden beneath the surface of the stories we are told, from ancient myths and childhood memories to the current news cycle.

Curated by Susie Kantor, exhibition department head and associate curator