Nina Ghanbarzadeh, Maureen Fritchen

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Courtesy of the artists

Images of a sculpture made from repurposed foam (left) and one of patterns made with thread on paper.

"My Fair Lady 2," by Maureen Fritchen (left) and "Not for Sale or Distribution IV," by Nina Ghanbarzadeh.

media release: From November 1, 2024 through January 12, 2025, the James Watrous Gallery will feature two solo exhibitions: Tales of the Seated Cat by artist Nina Ghanbarzadeh (Milwaukee) and See Foam by artist Maureen Fritchen (Racine).  Fritchen’s sculpture is created with polyethylene foam, repurposing industrial waste material into sensuous biomorphic forms. Ghanbarzadeh works across several media, using geometric patterns and calligraphic letter forms to reflect her experience as an Iranian-American woman.

Nina Ghanbarzadeh’s art practice is rooted in the desire to share her personal experiences and understanding of the culture and history of Iran, where she was born. She often works with geometric patterns, calligraphic letters, clay, and the color turquoise, inspired by their importance in the history of Iranian art. “Living between two cultures (American and Persian)," says Ghanbarzadeh, "I find myself in constant translation. Culture is so much more than language. It is a shared visual sensibility, humor, music, rituals, past times, food, spiritual commonalities, shared history and understanding. I draw inspiration for my art from all of this and from the limitations inherent in language. I search for the universal abstractions of lines, curves, dots that are the building blocks of the symbols that make any language and that help to describe a culture.” Repetitive, meditative processes are central to Ghanbarzadeh’s process, from drawings made with repeated lines of text to patterns in ceramic tile and collages that resemble mosaic. The complexity and rhythmic power of her work creates a quiet resonance that transcends both pure decoration and literal translation. Ghanbarzadeh continues to introduce different media into her practice, and is creating new work in photography and clay for this exhibition.   The title for this exhibition -- Tales of a Seated Cat -- is inspired by the shape of Iran on the world map.

Maureen Fritchen’s exhibition showcases the impact of consumerism on our environment. Fritchen uses industrial waste materials as her principal medium, repurposing non-biodegradable polyethylene foam (PE) used in a wide variety of packaging. While PE is technically recyclable, in practice there are very few options for collection and most PE ends up in landfills or the natural environment. The biomorphic shapes and forms Fritchen creates are beautiful and sensual, in bright happy hues of pink and turquoise. They are both alluring and disturbing.   “The materials I use can dictate how forms emerge and lead to surprising outcomes,” explains Fritchen. “Play is vital to my process; it allows me the freedom to fail.” Her installation at the Watrous Gallery will include free-standing sculpture and large-scale wall reliefs that evoke life in the ocean, creating a colorful, whimsical space with an undercurrent of serious concern for the environment.