REPRESENT 
Artwork by Mz. Icar & Nazeer Sabree 
Curated by Ginger Rudolph 
March 25, 2022 - May 8, 2022 

Left: Nazeer Sabree, Theseus and the Gaze, mixed media, 30x40
Right: Mz. Icar, Bank Vol.8, stretched tapestry, 24x24

Paradigm Gallery is pleased to announce REPRESENT curated by Ginger Rudolph. The exhibition will be open to the public from March 25 through May 8, 2022, with an opening reception on Friday, March 25th from 5:30 - 8:00 PM.

As a curator of color in an art world that seems overwhelmingly white, I often overthink how cultural practices, seen through the lens of contemporary art, fall on the eyes of others. Culture is a symbolic communication of our attitudes, values, and learned knowledge. Art as a representation of culture is meant to communicate broadly. Yet, it can be scary to seek acceptance of your culture in its intricacies - especially when their symbols or behaviors are often misread, deemed too loud, too much, too confrontational.

Mz. Icar's "In Us We Trust" collection and Nazeer Sabree's "False Face" series feature familiar symbols and rituals put before you as tangible visual aspects of ‘US’. With 'Represent,' these artists and I take agency over our narratives, contextualizing with an aesthetic determination of cultural freedom to arrive at a new architecture of cultural awareness.

EXHIBITION HOURS
Saturdays • 11:00am – 6:00pm
Sundays • 11:00am - 5:00pm
And 7 days a week by appointment.

LOCATION
Paradigm Gallery + Studio
746 S. 4th Street, 1st Floor / Philadelphia, PA 19147
info@paradigm-gallery.com / (267)266-0073

SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram: @ParadigmGS
Twitter: @ParadigmGS
Facebook: facebook.com/paradigmgallery

Please contact info@paradigm-gallery.com if you are interested in receiving the digital collector preview when it is available for this exhibition.

ABOUT THE CURATOR, GINGER RUDOLPH
Ginger Rudolph is a curator, artist, and writer. She is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is the Founder & Editor of HAHA Magazine (High on Art, Heavy on Antics), an arts journal with a focus on contemporary art and street art. She studied Communications/Journalism at Community College of Philadelphia and art history at Temple University. As her passion for the arts grew, she co-founded HAHA x Paradigm, a civic and social arts initiative located in Philadelphia. In her free time, she writes for arts and culture journals.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

ABOUT NAZEER SABREE
Nazeer Sabree, Born on March 9th, 1998, is a contemporary visual artist from West Philadelphia. Nazeer's work is generally and most notably focused on depicting the dichotomy of everyday life in black culture. The themes explored in his works are individual and shared cultural experiences, identity, personal narratives, literature, philosophy, social constructs, mental health, belonging, and African American history.

Nazeer's concepts and material are motivated by his nomadic upbringing and experiences in Philadelphia. Using textiles, photographs, magazines, shell casings, and other everyday items in a nontraditional way adds a coating of the connection to his environment. The complexity in which he depicts and discusses mental health is motivated by his lived experiences with depression and anxiety. Nazeer's work hopes to inspire and create an outlet and vulnerable space for viewers as much as it does for himself. 

ABOUT MZ. ICAR
Mz. Icar is an anonymous art collective composed primarily of Black Women. Our name is racIzM, backward. We started this collective to create works that celebrate Women, Global Blackness, and Play. We create narratives in the form of geometric mixed-media street art and fine art that explore histories and imagine the best-case scenario future from the perspectives of women and people of color.

Our work has been exhibited at Pyramid Hill Museum in OH, MINT Gallery Atlanta, Culture House DC, Welancora Gallery, The Leroy Neiman Gallery, Westwood Gallery, i-20 Gallery, WNYC Radio's Green Space, Rush Gallery, Andeken Gallery, SXSW and the Brooklyn Children's Museum. We have done site-specific installation work at Etsy's HQ, Publicis, the City of Boston and branded art projects for Ms. Lauryn Hill's world tour, BET, Essence magazine and Nickelodeon. Our Value series was included in the 2020 Photoville Exhibition, Downtown Brooklyn. We are cohorts of Philadelphia’s 2021 Fellowship for Black Artists, Presented by Mural Arts Philadelphia.


ABOUT PARADIGM GALLERY
Paradigm Gallery + Studio® was established in 2010 by co-founders and curators Jason Chen and Sara McCorriston. The gallery exhibits meaningful, process-intense contemporary artwork from around the world. Now open 12 years, Paradigm Gallery is globally recognized and known as a tastemaker within their greater Philadelphia arts community. As the gallery grows, it maintains its original mission to keep art accessible. Through monthly donations, free public art installations, and initiatives like Insider Picks, Paradigm Gallery continues to be a champion of small businesses and emerging and mid-career artists.

Media Contact:
Lainya Magaña
A&O PR
347 395 4155
lainya@aopublic.com