Artist Profile: NAS alumni Arash Chehelnabi

Artist Profile: NAS alumni Arash Chehelnabi

Article by: Victoria Hynes. Photo: Arash Chehelnabi, Nancy Fairfax Artist in Residence Studio, photographed by Kate Holmes, courtesy the artist and Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre.

Visually and conceptually compelling, Chehelnabi’s deceptively simple paintings subconsciously play with the mind. Executed in a raw, almost childlike style, his practice involves a surrealist method of combining disparate motifs within the composition in order to unsettle or perplex the observer. Against the black walls of Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre’s exhibition space, his luminous paintings pop with colour. Upon canvases painted in flat cerulean blue, tangerine orange or a white lime wash, everyday objects hover and float.

A sparse, ghostly tree ascends from the middle of the ocean, surrounded by shimmering waves. Circular, balloon-like shapes float on the sea below a sunset horizon. A small peaked mountain range is contained within a blue cube. The images are peculiar, absurd, and surprising, challenging the audience’s perceptions of reality.

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Exhibitions Project Officer - Application Deadline Sunday 2 February 
The Exhibitions Project Officer is a member of the NAS Galleries Curatorial Team and provides administrative and operational support to the National Art School’s Galleries exhibition programs. It has a focus on major Indigenous exhibition projects currently in development for the National Art School as well as touring programs. Please note this is part time, three day a week, fixed term contract until 19 December 2025. 
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Digital Marketer - Application Deadline Sunday 2 February 
The Digital Marketer plays an important role in coordinating the marketing and communication activities that drive degree recruitment, short course attendance, public program participation, exhibition promotion, brand positioning and alumni engagement. You will have a thorough understanding of marketing principles with a focus on digital media channels and e-communications. 
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