ZAHRA HOOSHYAR

BIOGRAPHY

Zahra Hooshyar is an interdisciplinary, first-generation Iranian-American artist born in Morgantown, West Virginia. She attended the University of California, Davis—graduating with a dual Bachelor of Art in Studio Art and Persian studies in 2022. Hooshyar is currently an educator and kiln tech in the Southern California region. Hooshyar has exhibited works at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Verge Center for the Arts, Light Art Space, The Basement Gallery, and the Dream Clinic Project. Hooshyar has been published in the Mulberry Literary Journal, Bravura Post, and Open Ceilings. Hooshyar has been featured on Rhonda Willer’s podcast, “The Artist in Me is Dead.” She was also a guest speaker for a storytelling segment at NCECA 2022: Fertile Ground.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Her body of work ranges from sculptural installations and ephemeral moments to fragile collisions of found materials, focusing on the idea of belonging and what it means to exist somewhere, false memories, and our interconnectedness through our human existence with the planet. Hooshyar finds herself uncovering stories of her ancestors, her current community, and the ecological spaces around her. Frequently asking the viewer to become the participant, Hooshyar is interested in art as an experience that should be seen and encountered through tactile interventions. Hooshyar finds great importance in preserving her Iranian-American culture through storytelling, investigation, and imagination.

www.zhooshyarstudios.com
Instagram: @zazahoosh