NAWA 2025 EXHIBITION |  Porgy & Bess

Curated by Aftab Maher

Reihaneh Hosseini

https://www.reihanehhosseini.com/paintings/dark/

Born in 1988 in Tehran, Iran, Reihaneh Hosseini pursued philosophical studies before establishing her artistic base in Vienna in 2014. Her figurative style reflects her emotional core, the stories she wishes to tell, and her unique perspective on existence. Her studies in Graphic Arts and Printmaking Techniques at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna enriched her artistic practice and informed her distinctive approach.
Hosseini's paintings delve into the depths of human experience, celebrating resilience, particularly in women, while exploring her surroundings and personal emotional states. Drawing inspiration from everyday encounters, friends, and routines, her works transform these impressions into dysmorphic representations. Through exaggerated dimensions, grotesque features, and unconventional colors, her art presents vivid, transformative portrayals of her subjects, blending reality with abstraction.
Her creative process is dynamic and intuitive, akin to a dialogue where each brushstroke sparks new ideas. This unpredictability and spontaneity bring joy to her work, as each painting evolves uniquely yet contributes to a cohesive whole. Her art balances opposites, juxtaposing humor with philosophical depth, and evokes magical realism, reflecting subconscious elements and shared socio-cultural imagery while exploring the innocence of the inner child.

Afshin Chizari

https://afshinchizari.com/mirroring/ 

Afshin Chizari's life and career are a united response to three elements of memory, dreams, and paradox.
These are essential substances in his work. Besides his melancholic romanticism, his reaction towards these elements creates a sense of antiquity with a self-punishing aspect.
Afshin's obsession with details is the most obvious exposure of this mentality. For him, this slowness, which is caused by the nature of his technique, is the modus operandi of mnemonic comprehension. As he frequently declares his rage towards our new era of being inaccurate, he produces imaginary criteria where we must step back from our era and pay attention to everything. The present work narrates his autobiographical text of some tragically lost elements. They are thought through time, carefully nurtured, and are presented as an interpretation playground. As he renders his art, he puts weeks of focus on his loss to gain a very accurate reading of it.
Afshin Chizari is a paradox within the paradox. He lives in a paradox. He contributes to the paradox. He is infuriated with this paradox, yet he paints and prints the paradox itself!
Growing up in the south-eastern suburbs of Tehran, Chizari is native to a place where the entirety of “our” art is a tourist attraction. After being taught by a tremendous thread of teachers and elite Iranian artists, he runs a factory down in southern Tehran; A factory where you can find this amazing print series as well as a confident personality and a huge collection of his paintings. This is where a part of our future is taking shape, although it calls for a colossal need for nurturing and care.
His works include a strong codex of dreams1 and snapshots. By the use of his vast collection of snapshots and images taken during the past six years or so, he has access to the stronghold of Southend's culture. Chizari searches through this archive, objectively pick a thing out of snapshots, and give birth to it in his works as a relatively different semiosis. What he does while selecting the objects is more like what a poet does while selecting the words.

Ahoo Maher

https://ahoomaher.com/de-rang/

Ahoo Maher was born into an artistic family in Iran and has lived in Austria since 2008. Between 2009 and 2011, she studied Music Education at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. In 2017, she completed her studies in Contextual Painting under the guidance of Ashley Scheirl at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna.
She has participated in several solo exhibitions in Austria and Iran, as well as numerous international group exhibitions. As a co-founder of the organization “ANN – Association for Art, Culture and Solidarity”, she is actively involved in various cultural initiatives. Her artistic work focuses on the representation of life realities from a female perspective, using various media such as drawing, painting, installations and performances. She works as an independent artist, performer and curator in Vienna.