What: Cross Currents: Tradition and Innovation in Contemporary Art of the Islamic World
When/Where: Feb. 26 (Tuesday) through March 30 (Saturday) at UNT Art Gallery, 1201 W. Mulberry St., Denton, on the first floor in the UNT Art Building. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, and 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.
Opening reception: 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 28 (Thursday); curator's talk starts at 6 p.m.
Cost: Free
More information: Call 940-565-4316 or online at http://gallery.unt.edu.
Challenging the norms, yet honoring the traditions of their Islamic heritage through their art, the works of six contemporary artists will be on display Feb. 26 through March 30 at the UNT Art Gallery.
Cross Currents: Tradition and Innovation in Contemporary Art of the Islamic World is a traveling exhibition curated and organized by Jessica Hunter-Larsen of the InterDisciplinary Experimental Art Program (IDEA) at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. The exhibition features the work of six international artists: Azra Akšamija (Massachusetts, Bosnia and Herzegovina), Ayad Alkadhi (New York, Iraq), Shoja Azari (New York, Iran), Reza Derakshani (Texas, Iran), Naiza H. Khan (Pakistan) and Soody Sharifi (Texas, Iran).
"Employing a wide range of media, the artists each adapt or appropriate aesthetic strategies and themes from Persian and Arab traditions to address contemporary issues," said Hunter-Larsen. "The artists' approaches to traditional themes and forms vary significantly: some engage directly with the past by merging traditional forms with contemporary media, while others merely hint at traditional aesthetic precedents. Remaining aesthetically and philosophically distinct, these artists probe the tension between the desire to honor the past and subject it to intense interrogation."
The free exhibition will be on the University of North Texas campus in the UNT Art Gallery, 1201 W. Mulberry St., Denton, on the first floor in the Art Building. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, and 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.
An opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 28 (Thursday), with a talk by Hunter-Larsen starting at 6 p.m.