Sculptor Pasha Rafat to speak at Nevada Arts Council OXS reception May 11

May 7, 2015

In New Works by Pasha Rafat, a Las Vegas artist will be featured  the Office eXhibition Series Gallery May 11 to July 10. Rafat used the main OXS Gallery wall as a canvas to draw his site-specific piece. Taking imagery of bars from his former pinhole camera work and converting them into a large-scale drawing, Rafat went back to his roots as a drawing teacher while also exploring the challenge and chance inherent to temporary installations. His goal of “bringing a little Las Vegas into Carson City” was met by this larger-than-life artwork that emphasizes the foundations of drawing and references the cultural landscape of southern Nevada. Many of Rafat’s previous works (in neon, photography, and video) have also referenced popular culture and the Las Vegas cultural landscape-including a series on bars and film stills. Born in Iran, Rafat has a BS in design from Arizona State University and MA/MFA from California State University, Fullerton. He is a professor of art at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he teaches photography and multi-media courses including art in public places.

The artist’s work has been shown at Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; Ace Gallery, Los Angeles; Nevada Museum of Art, Reno; and in Germany, France, Spain, Sweden, Cypress and Turkey.  His art is in the permanent collections of the IPG Building, La Jolla, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; Sprint Collection; Rio and Aladdin Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas; Center for Photography, Woodstock; and the Robert M. MacNamara Foundation. 

Managed by NAC’s Artist Services Program, the Office eXhibition Series Gallery features artists who have been recognized by the agency through its artist fellowships and exhibits from the agency’s Nevada Touring Initiative-Traveling Exhibition Program. For more information, contact (775) 687-6680 or visit the department’s website at nac.nevadaculture.org.