PANTEA KARIMI

Statement

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I am a printmaker and painter and I also hold a professional degree with work experience in graphic design, all of which have influenced my fine art aesthetic and practice. As a graphic designer, I have always been interested in the design and layout of books and print media. I am intrigued by the ways in which image and text interact and convey meaning. Following this interest, my work explores the history of archaic technologies and investigates how older scientific knowledge was communicated through both image and text. I examine these concepts within the pages of medieval and early modern scientific manuscripts, particularly, Persian, Arab and European and the long term exchange of knowledge across these cultures. I use silkscreen, ink, watercolor and graphite on paper as well as wood, velum, felt and plexiglass to create a novel and dynamic visual interpretation of the scientific concepts and ideas presented in the manuscripts.

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THE TWO SERIES FEATURED HERE ARE:

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The Science of Imagination series, 2014-2016, aims to shed light on compositional aspects of the medieval Persian and Arab scientific manuscripts and early modern European periods. Taking a cue from these manuscripts, my pages incorporate layouts and images of the manuscripts as well as my imagination.

 

Mediated Senses series, 2010-2012, probes our dynamic relationship with and sensory responses to our continually evolving physical and virtual environments. I take photographs of sites, buildings and people that I visit. In this series I have appropriated and manipulated my own photos as well as iconic images of man-made structures to create a new locale. The environments that I have created in this series are inspired by the mixed landscape of Silicon Valley, in particular the area in the vicinity of Western edges of Stanford University campus grounds, where technological structures such as The Dish clash with natural surroundings.

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Biography

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Pantea Karimi has lived, studied, and worked in Iran, the UK and the US and presently resides in San Jose and maintains a studio in Cubberley Studios in Palo Alto, California. Karimi earned her MFA in printmaking and painting from San Jose State University in 2009. She also holds a Diploma in printmaking and glass work and an MFA in graphic design. Karimi’s fine arts and graphic works have been featured in several publications in Iran, Italy, the UK and the United States. Her prints and digital works have been exhibited in various venues in Iran, Algeria, Germany, Mexico, the UK, and the United States, including the de Young Museum and the Yerba Buena Art Center in San Francisco, 2012 ZERO1 Biennial, the Triton Museum in Santa Clara, the Peninsula Museum of Art in Burlingame, the Google Headquarter in Mountain View, the NASA Research Center in Sunnyvale, the San Jose City Hall, the New Bedford Art Museum in Massachusetts, and Platform in Munich, Germany. She is the recipient of the 2016-2017 Kala Fellowship-Residency Award and the 2010 Distinguished Artist Award by the City of Cupertino Fine Arts Commission.