Nilou Kazemzadeh (b. 1993, Maryland, US) is an Iranian American artist based in Maryland. She earned her BA in Studio Art and MA in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Maryland, College Park, and an MFA from Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Philadelphia, PA. Her work has been shown in various galleries in the DC and Philadelphia areas, including the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, Washington, DC; Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD; Target Gallery, Alexandria, VA; and IA&A Hillyer, Washington, DC. Her work has been reviewed and included in various publications, including the Washington Post and Baltimore City Paper.
In my mixed-media practice, I create works that embody a personal connection to place and lineage as a form of revolt against isolating and harmful power systems built on politically motivated agendas driven by personal interests. I allow myself to be held and shielded by the memories of my family, my heritage, and the mysteries of the earth. All of these domains and their intricacies are intertwined to form an environment of joy. In this quiet space, my hands are heavily present, forming carefully chosen materials into visual experiences of resilience.
I employ a wide variety of media including my family’s archives that have been preserved, passed down, and then reimagined; minerals found in a local stream in Maryland that have been gathered and hand-ground into pigments; and clay, that is given shape by my hands and covered with the pigments I have ground. Each material goes through an act of becoming and through them I am able to see connections to myself and the world around me. How can connecting to one’s roots create a space of joy and healing? How is the action of care a radical rebellion against toxic societal constructs that uphold power structures? I think about these questions as I experience my work and imagine a future that is not based on self gain, but one that honors our bonds with the world around us and ourselves.
Current Exhibition
Inspired by her upbringing in Potomac, Maryland, her Iranian ancestry, and the practices of intergenerational land stewardship that connect the two, Kazemzadeh’s latest work considers the careful labor of cultivation……
Past Exhibition
Hamiltonian Artists’ distinguished 2024–26 fellows Sobia Ahmad, June Canedo De Souza, Jermaine “jET” Carter, Nilou Kazemzadeh, and Fargo Nissim Tbakhi exhibit the work they plan to expand upon during their two-year fellowship. …
Past Exhibition
The second catalogue of Kinetic debuted with an exhibition at Hamiltonian Artists. We asked current Hamiltonian Artists fellows to nominate, and exhibit alongside, artists they admire.…
Coming soon
Coming soon
