Maybe you’ve noticed something new above the Lawrence Arts Center’s front doors, something particularly striking after dark. The Arts Center is excited to have new work by visual artist Nazanin Amiri Meers in the Arts Center’s lightboxes, especially as the days grow shorter.
Amiri Meers is a visual artist from Mashad, Iran who migrated to the US in 2014 to pursue her graduate degree in fiber arts. She graduated in 2018 from the University of Kansas with a master of fine art in fibers but her work is not limited to fiber. She uses fabrics, paper, found objects and embellishments in her mixed media pieces and installations. Her work is characterized by an emphasis on patterns and visual analysis that is a legacy of her design background.
As an artist born and raised in Mashad, Iran Amiri Meers aspires to maintain her individuality and uniqueness while interrogating her nature and cultivating and appreciating the culture she grew up in. She draws her inspiration mostly from Persian courtyard houses and the architecture of the cultures influenced by Islamic philosophy.
In Amiri Meers’ work, monumental paper pieces with perforated surfaces or translucent materials convey an elusive image of the barriers which initially intend to protect space and build privacy, but which are nonetheless fragile and barely visible planes. Translucent materials are meant to communicate impermanence and ephemerality, in her art as in life. Light is another prominent element in Amiri Meers’ work; it both creates patterned shadows through her perforated pieces and helps delineate sacred areas.
Make sure to look up and check out Nazanin Amiri Meers’ paper installation, next time you drop by the Lawrence Arts Center!