Painter Vera Iliatova will present the next Hixson-Lied Visiting Artist and Scholar Lecture at 5:30 p.m. March 27 at the Sheldon Museum of Art’s Ethel S. Abbott Auditorium. The lecture is free and open to the public.
The School of Art, Art History and Design’s Hixson-Lied Visiting Artist and Scholar Lecture Series brings notable artists, scholars and designers to Nebraska each semester to enhance the education of students. The series is presented in collaboration with the Sheldon Museum of Art.
Iliatova’s work employs metaphors of landscape and interior spaces and female figures that meld together in oddly disconnected perspectives. Her psychologically charged images often depict women at various stages of life at instances of impending melodramas either with each other or themselves, which can create an atmosphere of uncertainty in the painterly mise-en-scène they are populating.
liatova grew up in Leningrad (former Soviet Union) and immigrated to the United States when she was 15. She received a BA from Brandeis University and an MFA in painting/printmaking from Yale University, with further study at the Skowhegan School of Art (2004) and a residency at Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation (2007/2008). In 2018, Iliatova was awarded a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Painting (2018) and Cafe Royal Cultural Foundation Grant (2023).
Iliatova’s work has been shown across the U.S., as well in Italy, Spain, Germany, Denmark and Great Britain. Currently, her paintings are presented in a two-person exhibition with Judith Linhares, curated by Dona Nelson at Fahrenheit Madrid, Spain. Iliatova’s work was included in group exhibitions at the Warehouse Dallas (2022), Fahrenheit Madrid (2021), Katonah Museum (2018) and at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco (2017). Her work was reviewed in Art Forum, Art in America, Art News, The New York Times, The Houston Chronicle, The Boston Globe, Time Out New York and other publications.
View her work online.
The remaining lectures in the series are:
- April 3: Tony Orrico. Orrico is a visual and performing artist whose record of exhibitions spans five continents. He is assistant professor of dance and sculpture/intermedia at the University of Iowa. View his work online.
- April 9: Jack Davis and Sharon Stocker, Richards Hall Room 15. Davis and Stocker are a husband-and-wife team of University of Cincinnati archaeologists. They were part of an international team of archaeologists led by UC that recently discovered a Bronze Age warrior’s tomb in southwestern Greece filled with more than 1,400 objects and was featured in the New York Times.
- April 10: Jaque Fragua. Fragua is a Native American artist known for his powerful and thought-provoking works. His artistic practice encompasses a diverse range of mediums, including studio painting, mural creation, sculpture, installation and public art. See his work online.
- April 17: Amanda Macuiba. Co-sponsored by the Great Plains Art Museum. Macuiba’s work is concerned with the landscapes, communities, development practices and environmental practices throughout the U.S. Her solo exhibition, “Watershed,” will be on view at the Great Plains Museum from April 4-Sept. 20, and she will be the Elizabeth Rubendall Artist-in-Residence from April 8-19. A reception will take place in the Great Plains Art Museum immediately following the lecture at the Sheldon. View her work on her website.
- April 24: Norman Akers. Akers’ work is included in the spring exhibition “Exploding Native Inevitable,” at the Sheldon Museum of Art. Akers is associate professor in the Department of Visual Art at the University of Kansas. As a Native American artist, he explores issues of identity, culture (including Osage mythos), place and the dynamics of personal and cultural transformation in his work. View his work on his website.
Underwritten by the Hixson-Lied Endowment with additional support from other sources, the series enriches the culture of the state by providing a way for Nebraskans to interact with luminaries in the fields of art, art history and design. Each visiting artist or scholar spends one to three days on campus to meet with classes, participate in critiques and give demonstrations.
For more information on the series, contact the School of Art, Art History and Design at 402-472-5522 or e-mail schoolaahd@unl.edu.
