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Biography
Shahnaz Nia is an Iranian-American artist born in Toronto, Canada, living and working in Atlanta, Georgia. She was first introduced to oil painting at age eleven under the instruction of the late Abbas Katouzian in Tehran, Iran. Nia received her bachelors of science in biology in 2012 and a doctorate in dentistry in 2016. Her work creates contemplative spaces that invite viewers to slow down and enter a field of layered time, where the microscopic and astronomic touch, and decay is inseparable from creation.
Recent exhibition highlights include curated group exhibitions at Bowery Gallery in New York, Prince Street Gallery in New York, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Free Market Gallery in Atlanta, the Masur Museum of Art in Louisiana, and the Art League Gallery in Virginia. Nia was an artist in residence at the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and was the 2024 recipient of the Fulton County Arts & Culture Distinguished Fellowship.
Artist Statement
My work explores the underlying structures of the natural world, where creation and destruction, expansion and contraction naturally unfold through interconnected cycles. My background in biology taught me to look closely at the mechanisms of existence. From cellular division to the decomposition of organic matter, we can observe recurring patterns that extend across biological and cosmic systems. These ideas guide my process in painting through layering, distortion, and shifts in scale. Abstraction is used to explore how forms morph, dissolve, and emerge anew to create surfaces that feel suspended between emergence and disappearance. By moving between the microscopic and the astronomic, my paintings trace the parallels across the many scales of existence. Ultimately, my work invites viewers to slow down, wonder, and contemplate the connections linking all forms of life.
EDUCATION
2016
Doctorate of Dental Medicine
Dental College of Georgia, Augusta University
Augusta, GA
2012
Bachelor of Science, Biology
Georgia State University
Atlanta, GA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026
Ensemble (forthcoming), Spalding Nix Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2025
The Summer Invitational, Swan Coach House Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Curated by Maria Bruckman and Jacob O’Kelley
Hambidge Hive Auction, Uptown Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
2024
33rd Annual Juried Exhibition, Bowery Gallery, New York City, NY
Curated by Enrico Riley
Realism vs. The Abstract, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Brooklyn, NY
Curated by Armando Jaramillo Garcia
2023
Delavar, Free Market Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Curated by Parsa Behnamiri
Interlaced, The Bakery, Atlanta, GA
60th Annual Juried Exhibition, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA
Curated by Jovanna Venegas
2021
14th National Annual Juried Exhibition, Prince Street Gallery, New York City, NY
Curated by Sangram Majumdar
2019
August Open Exhibition, Art League Gallery, Alexandria, VA
Curated by Julia Kwon
RESIDENCIES
2024
The Hambidge Center, Rabun Gap, GA
AWARDS
2024
The Fulton County Arts & Culture Distinguished Fellowship
2019
Best In Show, August Open Exhibition, Art League Gallery, Alexandria, VA
2007
Georgia Governor’s Honors Program Attendee for Visual Art
Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GA
PUBLICATIONS
2019
A Conversation with Shahnaz Nia: Best in Show for the August Open
Exhibit 2019, artleague.org
email: nia.shahnaz@gmail.com