U.S., Iranian artists offer interpretations of nature at Oakland exhibition 

TEHRAN – A large number of Iranian and American environmental artists is offering their creative interpretations of nature in an exhibit entitled “Rite of Passage”, which is currently underway at the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California (ICCNC) in Oakland, California.

Co-curated by Arash Shirinbab and Minush Zomorodinia, works by 27 Iranian and 17 American artists are on display at the exhibition, which opened on February 20 and will run until March 20, the ICCNC announced on its website.

The exhibition displays the cultural and spiritual perceptions of the artists who have been working directly in their natural environment.

Most of the works on display are photos; however, some of the other works are paintings, video installations, sculptures and performance arts, all based on nature.

Ahmad Nadalian, Amir-Hossein Kulivand, Arash Shirinbab, Asieh Mohammadian, Atefeh Arani, Atefeh Khas, Behzad Nadalian, Davud Jabbari, Farzaneh Najafi, Fereshteh Zamani, Mahmud Maktabi and Mahtab Qaemimanesh are among the Iranian artists.

The American artists include Cait Molloy, Carol Newborg, Christopher Squier, Earth Grouh, Elisabeth Kohnke, Glen Cheriton, Isabella La Rocca, Joanne Easton, Lea Feinstein and Lorna Stevens.

According to Shirinbab, cofounder of Ziya Art Center, a multicultural art center based in Berkeley, the exhibit aims to put the spotlight on environmental crises like the pollution of nature.

Zomorodinia also hoped that the exhibit can help narrate a new definition of the relation between mankind and nature.

Photo: A poster for “Rite of Passage” 

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