::: Hyperallergic, “Nadine Faraj’s Crucible of Humanity,” by Rebecca Goyette, October 13, 2024. “The artist explores and envisions fire as both violence and resurrection, from the ecstasy of heat-sparked bodies to the agony of a world ablaze in the throes of empire.”
::: LeDevoir, “Nadine Faraj joue avec le feu,” by Nicolas Mavrikakis. October 5 & 6, 2024 print edition, and online: “...elle revient cette fois avec une exaltation du corps féminin à travers la déesse Inanna, « figure majeure de la mythologie mésopotamienne » incarnant « des forces opposées telles que l’amour et la guerre, la fertilité et la mort ». *Note that online, the Faraj text comes after the one discussing the great Alanis Obomsawin.
::: McBride Contemporain presents PLAYING WITH FIRE, Nadine Faraj’s second solo exhibition with the gallery. Montreal, September 12 - October 19, 2024.
::: Two musical activations of the cavelike installation The Return Of Inanna took place over the course of the exhibition Playing With Fire. The first was performed by vocalist and therapeutic musician Rafaelle MacKay (rafaellemackay.com), the second by Lateef Martin, musician, designer and inventor of the bicycle harp (IG @lateefmartin; Miscellaneum Studios, Montreal).
::: Goldie Saloon x Guts Gallery, London, UK. This FLINTA saloon displays art by Nadine Faraj and Lily Bunney, curated by the incomparable Ell Pennick of Guts Gallery.
::: SVA Flatiron Project Space presents How do you like your love? curated by Isabelle Schipper and Nelson Santos. Artists in this exhibition include Jay Michelle Elizondo, Nadine Faraj, E. Jane, James Jaxxa, Baseera Khan and Zac Thompson. New York. May 11 - 29, 2024.
::: Nadine Faraj creates the cover art for The Sky is a Sky in the Sky, a laboratory of poetic approaches and experiments by Stuart Ross. Coach House Books, 2024. Cover design and type-setting by Crystal Sikma.
::: OFFICIAL SELECTION at Wicked Queer Film Festival, THE PEACH ACTIVATIONS, Nadine Faraj’s short experimental film screens as part of G.T.F.O. on April 14 at the Brattle Theatre, Boston. Download the WQ:40 program here (Faraj’s film appears on page 9).
::: Mémoire d’Encrier publishes a second book featuring Nadine Faraj’s art on the cover: Des cendres dans la bouche by Brenda Navarro. Previously, they published the riveting Mon coeur bat vite, by Nadia Chonville (2022). N’attendez pas avant de commander ces deux excellents romans.
::: Her Clique presents MALCRIADAS a group show curated by Izabela Depczyk, featuring artworks by Nadine Faraj and luminaries such as Betty Tomkins, Marilyn Minter, Katarina Janeckova, Anya Paintsil, Shona McAndrew, and Zanele Muholi to name a few. Lisbon, Portugal. February 15 - April 26, 2023.
::: Querétaro Contemporary Art Museum presents The Day I Saw You: Retratos de la Colección Fundación AMMA. September 1 - November 2023. This exhibition in Queretaro, Mexico, features two portraits by Nadine Faraj alongside works by artists such as Sarah Lucas, Tracey Emin, Mickalene Thomas, Kehinde Wiley, Katherine Bradford, Katherine Bernhardt, Jannis Varelas, and Rufai Zakari, to name a few.
::: Les écrits, No. 169, twenty-one reproductions of Nadine Faraj’s watercolours make up the special visual portfolio throughout the issue, including its cover. Autumn 2023. Essay by Marie-Eve Beaupré, “Nadine Faraj: Le travail de l’eau,” pp. 114-123.
::: Nadine Faraj’s art included in Architectural Digest magazine, Inside Adwoa Aboah’s Colorful and Comfortable Victorian-Era Home, by Busola Evans. Online article, video essay, and in print in the AD October 2023 issue, pp. 100-112. The You tube link for the video is here.
::: LSTW digital cover contest winner: Nadine Faraj’s art used in social media communications relating to Issue No. 8, summer 2023. Lez spread the word is a bilingual print magazine featuring lesbian/bi/trans & queer stories. (lezspreadtheword.com)
::: Hasbrook Galleries (USA) presents Veins, a virtual group show curated by John Giesa, July 2023.
::: Mon Dieu Projects presents Intimate Exchanges, a group show curated by Juno Youn and Spencer Walker, Los Angeles. April 1 - May 6, 2023. Read Jamie Valentino’s review on Queerty* “How to paint an orgy…”
::: EDJI Gallery (Brussels) presents Hometown Session 2, a special group exhibition in London, UK. This exhibition reserved 10% of all its proceeds for Le Refuge, a shelter for LQBTQIA+ youth.
::: Border Crossings Magazine editor Meeka Walsh selects artworks from participating galleries, Art Toronto 2022: Dora Maar, Harold Klunder, Nadine Faraj, Laura Findlay and Erin Shirreff, October 27, 2022.
::: The Next Contemporary presents a special exhibition dedicated especially to the brave women of Iran at Art Toronto 2022. Woman Life Freedom features: Mahsa Merci, Natia Lemay, Mallory Lowe Mpoka, Sharon Norwood, Sukaina Kubba, Nadine Faraj, Nuveen Barwari, and Niloofar Kasbi.
::: Anna Zorina Gallery presents Hope Is The Thing With Feathers, a group exhibition featuring art by Nadine Faraj, Deborah Brown, Mie Olise Kjaergaard, Monique de Roux and Sophie Ullrich in Los Angeles. October 27 - December 3, 2022.
::: Alianza Francesa presents The Day I Saw You: Retratos de la Colección Fundación AMMA, Mexico City, September 8 - November 28, 2022.
::: Conduit Magazine, Issue 32, Summer 2022, “Democracy!” - Nadine Faraj’s watercolours from the series Naked Revolt reproduced in print, alongside art by Sandow Birk, Jim Denomie, George Grosz, Doug McNamara, Alison Saar, Ai Weiwei, and Tang Zhigang.
::: LUMP Gallery presents ABORTION STORIES curated by Rebecca Goyette, Raleigh, NC, July 22 - August 28, 2022.
::: DAVID ZWIRNER’S online gallery PLATFORM features four watercolors by Nadine Faraj in a collaboration with Anna Zorina Gallery during the month of July 2022.
::: Cassie Packard selects a tondo by Nadine Faraj in Your Ultimate Guide to NYC’s May Art Fairs, Hyperallergic, May 2, 2022.
::: Anna Zorina Gallery presents Pink Moon Ceremony, Nadine Faraj’s third solo exhibition with the gallery in New York. May 12 - June 25, 2022.
::: IRL Gallery presents Pink Moon Pleasures, Nadine Faraj’s solo exhibition with the gallery in Brooklyn. May 14 - June 5, 2022.
::: Guts Gallery’s online charity art sale raises funds for The Disasters Emergency Committee benefiting Art for Ukraine’s DEC Humanitarian Appeal and the Afghanistan Crisis Appeal in March-April, 2022. (second image below.)
::: “Unabashed Exuberance and “A Lot of Water,”’ article by Fia Darroch on Nadine Faraj’s Pink Moon People solo exhibition, on AlloyCuratorial.com, December 14, 2021.
::: McBride Contemporain presents Pink Moon People, a solo exhibition of works by Faraj in Montréal that runs from November 18 - December 18, 2021 (Extended until January 15, 2022.) For Gallery hours click here. Read the Press Release here.
Image from the Pink Moon People solo exhibition at McBride Contemporain, What You Really Want Is Love’s Confusing Joy, 2021. Watercolor on Arches paper, 51.5 x 71.5 inches / 131 x 182 cm. © Nadine Faraj 2021.
::: “MEET: Nadine Faraj,” interview by Tal Levy on Art of Tomorrow, November 15, 2021.
::: To the Power of 5, online exhibition curated by Anna Woodward for The Artists Contemporary, August 1 - 31, 2021.
::: A New Art World, group exhibition at Guts Gallery, London, UK, July 22 - 29, 2021. For this exhibition, Guts Gallery produced A New Art World Limited Edition Manifesto (Edition of 200 plus 33 artist's proofs.)
::: Ce qui fût & ce qui est, group exhibition at McBride Contemporain, July 15 - Aug 14, 2021.
::: PLUS/MINUS 2020, online exhibition with Artilade Magazine via Instagram, curated by Marilyn Narota, June 1 - 30, 2021.
::: Tummy Ache (UK) feature on Faraj’s work by Anna Morrissey, May 21, 2021.
::: “Nadine Faraj,” interview by Anna Woodward for the Artists Contemporary, May 11, 2021.
::: The Artists Dozen, Fundraising group exhibition for the Uyghur Tribunal organized by The Artists Contemporary, March 2021.
::: McBride contemporain, Salon des refusés, group exhibition curated by Benjamin Klein, Montréal, QC, July 16 - August 29, 2020.
::: The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art is now offering two different limited edition prints of IN GAY WE TRUST. When you sign up at
the Queer Visionary membership level ($250), you can choose one of two archival pigment prints, In Gay We Trust (Morocco), or In Gay We Trust (Ladyboy). You will receive dual membership for two cardholders with free admission for both and your guests and reciprocal benefits at over 1000 cultural institutions. This exclusive offer is only available through the Leslie-Lohman Museum, made possible thanks to the generous support of patron Cristhian Escobar, Esq. While supplies last, limited edition of 50 prints of each version.
::: Living Life Fearless, All of The Above, curated by Dáreece Walker, online platform, USA, launched August 2020. “This exhibition is trying to tell to you something fundamental about humankind. That our unique experiences and differences are equally necessary, and should thus be respected as such. Sometimes social norms are social shackles. Our bodies become political because our survival depends on how our bodies are portrayed, and policed. Sometimes this is based on culture, geography, gender, language, or skin color; many times it is all of the above.” – Dareece Walker.
::: Purslane, A Dream is Not a Dream, works curated by Charlie Siddick, online platform UK, July 2020. This exhibition raised funds for the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, established to force change in the wake of Stephen’s murder in 1993. Stephen was callously killed in an unprovoked racial attack at the age of 18. The Trust runs high impact programmes that inspire and enable young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to succeed, whilst also educating workplaces about how they can benefit from more diverse talent.
::: Reversibility, presented by Loup NYC in partnership with the Know Your Rights Campaign, digital exhibition via Instagram @loup_nyc, July 2020. From the Press Release: “Reversibility explores this delicate shift in our collective history through the lens of both the dystopic poem Reversibility from Charles Baudelaire’s Flowers of Evil, and Jennie Livingston’s 1990 film, Paris is Burning. 18 multidisciplinary artists have contributed both archive and new works influenced by the topical themes pertaining to both the global pandemic and uprising sourced within each. The ectoplasmic compositions throughout the show share a similar transparency of destruction, despair and a conceptual renaissance which provide a plethora of inimitable interpretations.”
::: RIZOMA/Mexico. In early March 2020 I joined RIZOMA, a group of artists, poets and musicians, started by Lucía Hinojosa, Adriana Camacho and Anne Waldman. We spent the day at the women’s prison Penal Femenil Santiaguito de Almoloya. Read Emma Gomis’s true account of the day here.
::: SVA Galleries, Believing You, curated by Risa Puleo, New York City, January 2020. “ “Believing You” presents a range of formal, material and aesthetic responses, by an all-women and nonbinary roster of artists, to an era increasingly defined by questions of belief, be they about believing victims of the system and interpersonal abuse that formed the foundation of the #MeToo movement, or in parsing the layers of partisanship and political lies that underscore the hashtag #fakenews.”
::: Abortion is Normal is an emergency exhibition making important waves right now while women’s reproductive rights are being challenged and weakened in the United States. Curated by Jasmine Wahi and Rebecca Pauline Jampol, and co-organized by Marilyn Minter, Gina Nanni, Laurie Simmons, and Sandy Tait. Artworks are available NOW through ARTSY. Proceeds from the sale of this work will fund voter education and advocacy specifically on reproductive rights and Planned Parenthood PAC efforts in upcoming 2020 elections via Downtown for Democracy.
"These Artists Want You to Know That ‘Abortion Is Normal’," by Alaina Demopoulos, Daily Beast, January 13, 2020
"'Abortion Is Normal': Exhibition Raises Money For Planned Parenthood Amid Attacks On Reproductive Rights," by Sydney Periera, Gothamist, January 10, 2020
"Marilyn Minter, Laurie Simmons Open ‘Abortion Is Normal’ Exhibition to Fund Planned Parenthood," by Helen Holmes, Observer, January 9, 2020
"With Reproductive Rights Under Siege in America, a New York Group Show Aims to Make a Difference,” by Claire Selvin, ARTnews, January 9, 2020
“Cindy Sherman, Nan Goldin, and Other A-List Artists Are Raising Money for Reproductive Rights With a Provocatively Titled Exhibition,” by Sarah Cascone, Artnet, January 9, 2020
Photo Illustration by Lyne Lucien/The Daily Beast
::: The Steidz - Magazine: “Eroticolor,” by Virginie Duchesne, pp. 102-111, September 2019: “Faraj reveals almost genderless bodies that mingle. A similar form that bears the sexual attributes of man and woman. Once again, the watercolor gives flashing points (a nipple, a sex, a stiletto heel, a mouth). If the general forms merge, it is impossible to miss the tangling bodies, the screams of pleasure, the clearly pictured sexual positions.” “L’aquarelle, ce medium sage utilisé pour des paysages et sa fluidité, fait ici exploser les corps, les seins, les cris sortant des bouches ouvertes, les regards. Nadine Faraj fait ainsi écho aux combats politiques queer et féministes d’aujourd’hui portant sur le corps : sa diversité, sa sexualité, son assignation à un genre ou à un environnement.”
::: AMICA: “Pennelatte liquide” (Liquid Brushstrokes), by Olimpia Gorlani, pp. 146-150, September 2019: "One above all is Nadine Faraj, with her female and feminist nudes loved by LGBTQ+ community. Hers are liquid images, soaked with eroticism and sex appeal, where almost pornographic attitudes are diluted and watered down on faint backgrounds, thanks to the “wet on wet” technique (a brush soaked with water and pigment is used on wet paper). Powerful visions, as powerful are the paintings of the Londoner Cecily Brown. [...]"
::: HYPERALLERGIC: “Bodies Lose Themselves Within Other Bodies in Erotic Watercolors,” by Seph Rodney, April 5, 2019: “Nadine Faraj’s technique, which is to work wet-in-wet with watercolors on paper, evokes the misty arcs of pleasure and the deep, deep depths of hunger that the sexual act taps.”
::: Queer As I, curated by Dan Halm for HEREart New York “will feature 50 self-portraits from different artists, one portrait for each year since the Stonewall riots. The exhibtion will highlight the power and diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community…” May 2 - June 30, 2019. Opening reception May 2, 5-7pm. Gallery hours, Tuesday-Friday 2-7pm; World Pride Celebration June 27, 5-7pm. 145 6th Avenue New York, NY 10013. Here.org
::: NADINE FARAJ: Get Used To Us solo exhibition at Anna Zorina Gallery, 532 West 24 Street, New York, from February 28 - April 6, 2019. “I own my own body. That is what each of Nadine Faraj’s paintings declare. It is a loud and a proud declaration that looks you in the eye and dares you to shame it. I am shameless, it taunts and promises at the sametime. You might own the gaze but the glorious bodies you are looking at own the pride.” To read more of Mona Eltahawy’s response to Nadine’s paintings, read the Press Release.
::: Take the 3D tour of Get Used To Us at Anna Zorina Gallery on Artland.com
::: “NADINE FARAJ Get Used To Us alla Anna Zorina Gallery di New York,” by Redazione Hestetika for Hestetika Italia, March 22, 2019: “La tecnica utilizzata dall’artista è un acquerello molto liquido e sfumato nei contorni. Colori accesi e squillanti ritraggono scene erotiche e dai contenuti espliciti. Le immagini di interazione tra i soggetti richiamano azioni sessuali estratte da momenti di intimità, volutamente esibita.”
::: HYPERALLERGIC: “This Year, the Spring/Break Art Show Is Less Fanciful but Still Worth It,” by Seph Rodney, March 8, 2019: “I very much liked the idea behind Nadine Faraj’s installation for Anna Zorina gallery. Her paintings are mounted in a cave-like grotto to give the feel of one of those ancient underground tunnels, like those at Lascaux, although here the images are of sexy and sexualized male and female forms, in some instances mere impressions and at others wholly realized bodies. One has to see it with a flashlight borrowed from the attendant standing outside.”
::: 7 Artists Who Stole the Show at Spring/Break, by Alina Cohen for Artsy.net, March 6, 2019: “The artist, Nadine Faraj, has invented a mythology about this space: It’s a cave in northern Iraq, as yet undiscovered by archaeologists. The work offers an imagined ancient sisterhood, diverse in color and body type. There’s even an apparent dominatrix, wielding a black baton behind her head.”
::: “Standouts at This Year's Spring Break Art Fair,” by Avery Felman for L'Officiel, March 11, 2019: “Reminiscent of the time of cave painting, the impressive work and ambiance that Faraj recreated drew to the attention of many.”
::: W: “The Most Instagrammed Art of Armory Week 2019,” by Stephanie Eckardt, March 9, 2019.
::: “9 Exceptional Artworks from Spring/Break Art Show 2019 that Aren't Penile,” by Loney Abrams for Artspace, March 6, 2019: “Of Iraqi descent, Faraj references the story of a mystic cave that the women of her family have made yearly pilgrimages to for generations. Members of an ancient Mesopotamian faith, Faraj's family practiced pre-Abrahamic traditions that "were quite liberated when it came to gender expression and sex," says the artist. "Homosexuality was not taboo. Women of that time were encouraged to enjoy their sexuality and use it as a path to nirvana. Spirituality did not conflict with sexuality; both practices were seen as a way to achieve a higher plane."
::: Brooklyn, NY: A.I.R Gallery's CURRENTS: Abortion exhibition curated by Barbara Zucker will feature work by Faraj. The exhibition runs from January 5 to February 4, 2018. For the complete list of participating artists and public programs, please visit A.I.R. Gallery's website.
::: Art POP presents G.R.O.S.S., an exhibition featuring works by Nadine Faraj, Tricia Middleton, Rebecca Storm and Jana Sterbak at Never Apart centre in Montréal from July 13 - September 23, 2017.
::: Nadine Faraj's work was included in the group show Radical Love: Female Lust at the Crypt Gallery in London, UK on February 14, 2017, Valentine's Day. Read the article by Priscilla Frank discussing the show, “Inspired By Erotic Arabic Poetry, Women Artists Depict Radical Love,” in The Huffington Post, published February 7, 2017. Frank comments: "In 2017, there are still many parts of the world where celebrating female lust is an act of revolt in itself. These international artists find inspiration in ancient Arab poems to render radical love."
See also Samina Ail's post on HUFFPOST US.
::: Read Marta Bausells excellent interview with Nadine Faraj and other artists in the Radical Love: Female Lust exhibition in Huck Magazine: "The Female Artists Taking Inspiration From Ancient Erotic Poems," published February, 14, 2017.
::: Faraj's watercolour I'm With Her III (2016) was featured on the cover of A Woman's Thing Magazine print edition of "The Fight Issue." Many of her works from the Naked Revolt series are also published in this issue. Order a copy for yourself today
::: Read Priscilla Frank's great article, "Paintings Of Feminist Protestors Celebrate The Women Who Bare It All To Fight Back" in The Huffington Post Canada, published on October 17, 2016.
::: New York Fall Exhibition Highlights: Nadine Faraj, Joseph Grazi and Marc Yankus, SVA NYC Features, October 11, 2016.
::: “Nadine Faraj: The Whole World Has Gone Joyously Mad,” by Kara Williams for The Belgo Report, July 20, 2016.
::: Read AM DeBrincat's in-depth interview, "UNTAMABLE BODIES: Nadine Faraj in conversation with ArtFile Magazine’s AM DeBrincat" in ArtFile Magazine. Published on February 20, 2016.
Buttering The Sky (For Guston), 2012, watercolor on paper, 22 x 30 inches.
::: Michael Anthony Farley, “NSFW GIF of the Hump Day: Nadine Faraj,” Art F City, October 5, 2016:
The Heart Is Right gif (2015), and Like a Radiant Sky Creature gif (2015).
::: Check out Michael Anthony Farley's article, “This Week’s Must-See Art Events: An Overdue Eclipse of Male Artists,” on the Art F City blog, published October 3, 2016.
::: Anna Zorina Gallery presents Naked Revolt, a solo exhibition of works by Nadine Faraj. New York City, October 6 - November 12, 2016.
Breasts Feed Revolution, 2016, watercolor on paper, 30 x 22 inches. © Nadine Faraj 2016.
