Local artist to showcase new exhibit at Paradigm

Opening this Friday, the debut solo exhibition, ‘Licking the Thorns of a Rose’, will feature new work from artist Roxana Azar (they/them/she/her). Along with their takeover of the main gallery space, Azar will take her work at Paradigm a step further by also transforming two street-facing windows with installations featuring vinyl and acrylic works.

Azar is known for showcasing unique work that draws from plant life and the natural world — something the artist re-discovered over the course of the pandemic. From time spent in quarantine, the local artist now wishes to symbolize both the quiet pain of isolation and the solace of solitude through this showcase. She does this through plant-like and bodily forms which take on different meanings and associations in each piece.

Azar mainly works a lot with photography, but her latest showcase expands with the use of collage and digital manipulation. From abstract photo collages, Azar creates photo sculptures, built of printed layers of translucent, transparent and iridescent materials.

‘Licking the Thorns of a Rose’ will be open to the public from Feb. 25 through March 20, with an opening reception on Friday, Feb. 25, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Paradigm Gallery + Studio is located at 746 S 4th St. For information, visit paradigmarts.org