photograph by Josh Marten
Nava Gidanian-Kagan is an Iranian-Israeli artist based in Tuxedo, NY. Nava’s praxis is an evolving process through which she probes themes of nonduality, impermanence, presence and immanence. Informed by Buddhist, Christian, and Jewish concepts, she has created her own visual language for the tender intensity that emerges when the tactile and the spiritual coalesce. Contemplation on our collective humanity, our connection to the divine/nature and to each other is the heart of her work.
She received numerous awards including: The Terra Foundation for American Art (2014), The Elisabeth Greenshields Foundation Award (2014), The Eileen S. Kaminsky Foundation Residency award at MANA Contemporary (2017), LABA Fellowship (2022), and featured in: New American Paintings Magazine (2019) and Studio Visit Magazines (2020).
Nava has exhibited both nationally and internationally including: Nars Foundation ,NY (2023), SPRING/BREAK, NY (2023), The 14Y, NYC (2022), The Jewish Museum of New Jersey (2019), The Amelie A. Wallace Gallery, NY (2017), Dedee Shattuck Gallery, MA (2017), Eileen S. Kaminsky Family Foundation, Mana Contemporary, Jersey City (2017), The Experimental Gallery, New York (2016), Flux Factory, New York (2016), A.I.R Gallery, New York (2016), Sotheby’s, New York (2016), Panepinto Galleries, New Jersey (2015), Collier West Gallery, New York (2015), Wilkinson Hall Gallery, New York (2015), Indigo Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY (2012), Burchfield Penney Art Museum, Buffalo, NY, (2012), Marion Art Gallery, Fredonia, NY (2012), Olean Public Library Gallery, Olean, NY (2011), BAS, Buffalo, NY (2011), Echo Art Fair, Buffalo, NY (2011), Gallery 33, Tel-Aviv, Israel (2006), ISA Gallery, Umbria, Italy (2004/5) and Stern Gallery, Tel-Aviv, Israel. Nava participated in the Residency programs at: The International School of Painting, Drawing & Sculpture in Umbria, Italy (2005, 2004) and The Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain (2007). She holds a Master of Fine Arts from the New York Academy of Art (2015), the Jerusalem Studio School (2006).