Shiva Ahmadi, Fiery Descent (detail), 2024. Watercolor and silkscreen print on paper; 41 x 60 in. Image courtesy of the artist.
Logan Lecture: Shiva Ahmadi
Shiva Ahmadi orchestrates exquisitely crafted scenes of beauty and terror. Her vibrant fantasy realms are, upon closer inspection, macabre theaters of conflict where faceless figures engage in endless cycles of struggle and pain. Combining luminous colors and mystical beings with violent imagery, Ahmadi creates watercolor paintings, sculptures, and digital animations that illuminate global issues of migration, war, and brutality against marginalized peoples. Her work is informed by current events in the Middle East and the US, and inspired by Iranian, Turkish, and Indian book and miniature painting traditions.
In 2016, Ahmadi received the Anonymous Was a Woman Award and a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. Her work is in the collections of the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; Dallas Museum of Art; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia.
This event is part of the 2024-25 Logan Lecture Series.
Shiva Ahmadi, Fiery Descent, 2024. Watercolor and silkscreen print on paper; 41 x 60 in. Image courtesy of the artist.
Shiva Ahmadi, Flame Proofed, 2024. Watercolor and silkscreen print on paper; 41 x 60 in. Image courtesy of the artist.
Shiva Ahmadi, Octopus, 2024. Watercolor on paper; 15 x 22.5 in. Image courtesy of the artist.
Shiva Ahmadi, Felinity, 2024. Watercolor on paper; 22 x 30 in. Image courtesy of the artist.
Shiva Ahmadi, Entwined, 2024. Watercolor on paper; 15 x 22.5 in. Image courtesy of the artist.
Since 2007, the Logan Lecture Series at the Denver Art Museum has presented talks by over 120 contemporary artists. Organized by the Modern and Contemporary Art department, the series is made possible through the generous support of Vicki and Kent Logan.
