Grace Azar
Artist: Grace Azar
Title: “Coming Together I and II,” 2019
Dimensions: 25” W x 25” H
Media: digital photo collage, matted
Contact: gracieazar@gmail.com
Instagram: @gracieazar
Artist Statement: The work of Piet Mondrian’s methodical designs and bright colors have inspired the work of Grace Azar. While on a trip to Chicago, she started to photograph grid patterns, anything from sewer covers to tall modern skyscrapers. She made a conscious decision to concentrate her time on photographing repeated patterns. The simplicity of a grid and other repeated patterns evoke a sense of calm and order. Azar zooms in on a pattern and abstracts it to create her work. Most of the time, the viewer is not aware of the items she photographs, because it is so abstracted. Many of Grace’s pieces are photomontages, where she combines photos to create larger designs. Rather than working on the computer, the montages are hand done. She rarely alters her photographs because the unedited photograph speaks for itself.
Biography: Grace Azar is an artist, writer, children’s book author and illustrator, creative director, and teacher. She has studied many different forms of art: photography, pastel, acrylic, oil, mosaic, sculpture, and pottery. She has received education and training from world-renowned universities, including Hunter College, Brooklyn College, Pastel Society of America, The Artist Guild Shrewsberry, and Thompson Park Creative Arts Center. She is the Creative Director for Master Artisan Senior Program, where she has worked since 2017. She has taught art at the Sephardic Community Center and Magen David Yeshivah. From 2008 to 2016, Grace wrote and illustrated 6 children’s books. She has participated in exhibitions at venues including the Parci Palor, the Sephardic Community Center, Surrey Lane, as well as the Artist Guild of Shrewsberry. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Yuko Nii Foundation and the WAH center.
