Shiva Ahmadi's First Mid-Career Retrospective Opens at UC Davis

Shiva Ahmadi, Unbound (detail), 2023. Watercolor and silkscreen print on paper, 40 x 60 in. Courtesy of the artist and Haines Gallery. © Shiva Ahmadi.

Iranian artist and educator Shiva Ahmadi (MFA Painting 2005) has her first mid-career retrospective at The Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at the University of California, Davis where she currently is a professor. Shiva Ahmadi: Strands of Resilience features all new works by the artist focused on female figures in fantastical land and waterscapes. It will be the first solo exhibition of a current UC Davis faculty member at The Manetti Shrem Museum of Art.

Ahmadi’s painting practice explores painting as a form of truth-telling, combining vibrant colors and mystical beings with violent imagery, drawing attention to urgent global issues of migration, war, and brutality against marginalized peoples. Also consistent through her works are ornate patterns and vibrant colors drawn from Persian, Indian, and Middle Eastern art.

She has also recently begun incorporating screenprinting techniques into her paintings. Through her layered style, Ahmadi Ahmadi probes beneath the surface of stories, from ancient myths to memories to the neverending news cycle.

Shiva Ahmadi: Strands of Resilience opens on Sunday, January 28, and will be on view through May 6, 2024. The Manetti Shrem Museum of Art’s Winter Season Celebration takes place on Sunday, January 28 from 3-5:30pm.

Learn more:

‘Shiva Ahmadi: Strands of Resilience’ Opens Jan. 28 at Manetti Shrem Museum – UC Davis

The Manetti Shrem Museum of Art

Painting at Cranbrook Academy of Art