Nasim Hantehzadeh, Flying Over the Rainbow (After Silke), 2023, oil and oil stick on linen, 213.5 x 183 cm. Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand. Gift of Rose and Alfredo Setubal in the context of the exhibition Queer Histories, 2024-26. © Nasim Hantehzadeh 2026. Photo: Mark Blower.
We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Nasim Hantehzadeh's Flying Over the Rainbow (After Silke), 2023, by Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP). The painting was included in the exhibition Queer Histories at MASP curated by Adriano Pedrosa and Julia Bryan-Wilson (2024-2025).
In Flying Over the Rainbow (After Silke) (2023), Hantehzadeh pays tribute to the late German artist Silke Otto-Knapp, who taught Hantehzadeh during their MFA at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2018. Echoing Otto-Knapp's layered watercolour technique and high-contrast compositions, Hantehzadeh's biomorphic forms are bold and outlined, striking against a swirling background. A central rainbow addresses the artist's interest in queer expression, particularly in light of recent threats towards reproductive rights and gender expression in the US, and the systemic restriction of women's rights and LGBTQ+ discrimination in Iran.
Working across oil, pastel, acrylic, and graphite on canvas and paper, Hantehzadeh combines figurative imagery with references to Paleolithic, Mesoamerican, and Persian visual traditions, with a particular focus on pre-Islamic Persian artefacts and literature. Hantehzadeh was raised in Iran until their early adulthood, after which they returned to the US, their place of birth. Their practice explores the political and social interconnections between the two countries, examining how patriarchal systems shape understandings of gender, sexuality, and identity. Drawing on imperial, colonial, and postcolonial histories, they challenge fixed categories and binary frameworks, proposing more fluid and nuanced approaches to personhood.
In Flying Over the Rainbow (After Silke) (2023), Hantehzadeh pays tribute to the late German artist Silke Otto-Knapp, who taught Hantehzadeh during their MFA at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2018. Echoing Otto-Knapp's layered watercolour technique and high-contrast compositions, Hantehzadeh's biomorphic forms are bold and outlined, striking against a swirling background. A central rainbow addresses the artist's interest in queer expression, particularly in light of recent threats towards reproductive rights and gender expression in the US, and the systemic restriction of women's rights and LGBTQ+ discrimination in Iran.
Working across oil, pastel, acrylic, and graphite on canvas and paper, Hantehzadeh combines figurative imagery with references to Paleolithic, Mesoamerican, and Persian visual traditions, with a particular focus on pre-Islamic Persian artefacts and literature. Hantehzadeh was raised in Iran until their early adulthood, after which they returned to the US, their place of birth. Their practice explores the political and social interconnections between the two countries, examining how patriarchal systems shape understandings of gender, sexuality, and identity. Drawing on imperial, colonial, and postcolonial histories, they challenge fixed categories and binary frameworks, proposing more fluid and nuanced approaches to personhood.
Nasim Hantehzadeh (b. 1988, Stillwater, Oklahoma) lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. They earned a BA from the University of Tehran Center for Art and Architecture in 2010, a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2013, and an MFA from the University of California Los Angeles in 2018. Earlier this year, Hantehzadeh's work was acquired by Santa Barbara Museum of Art, CA. Previous exhibitions include Night Gallery, Los Angeles (2025); Museu de Arte de São Paulo (2024-2025); The Pit, Los Angeles (2024); Modern Art, London (2023); Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London (2023, 2022); and Nina Johnson, Miami (2023, 2021), amongst others.
8 July 2026
