Hedieh Javanshir Ilchi's connection to nature, landscape, and geography provokes themes through which the painter focuses her lens. With each poured work, Ilchi elicits a new environment or dreamscape from the undulating forms, as if divining a place of solace (or unease) from floes of thinned acrylic and watercolor. The artworks in this exhibition evoke the idealism of Hudson River School paintings, echoing the sublime themes of this 19th-century movement. Otherworldliness can be seen as an inspiration in Ilchi's own practice, pairing intricate Tazhib patterns with fearsome depictions of nature, such as celestial phenomena and towering trees. Ilchi reflects on the individual's organic connection to heaven and earth, land and sky, breathing life into the hidden environments described in this newest body of work.
Hedieh Javanshir Ilchi: We are forever folding into the night is the artist’s fourth solo exhibition at HEMPHILL. Ilchi was born in Tehran, Iran in 1981 and currently lives and works in the Washington, DC area. Ilchi received a BFA with honors from the Corcoran College of Art + Design in 2006 and an MFA in Studio Art from American University in 2011. She has been awarded residencies at the Ucross Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, The Jentel Foundation, and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts. Her work has been featured in Hyperallergic, Blouin ArtInfo, The Washington Post, the Washington City Paper and DC Modern Luxury. She has exhibited in New York, Switzerland, Washington DC, and Winston-Salem, NC. Her work is represented in numerous public and private collections, including the The Federal Reserve Board, Fine Arts Program Permanent Collection, The Carl F. Freeman Foundation, University of Maryland Contemporary Art Purchasing Program, and The Phillips Collection. She is currently the McMillan Stewart Endowed Chair in Painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA).
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 11, 2-6 pm.