From Rule Gallery:

""RULE Gallery is delighted to present a two-person exhibition, The Edge of Memory, featuring work by Azadeh Gholizadeh and Leslie Wilkes. The exhibition will open at our gallery in Marfa on Saturday, June 22, with a public reception from 5-7p and will be on view through August 10, 2024. RULE is located at 204 E. San Antonio St.

The Edge of Memory examines the rich interplay between memory, identity, and perception through distinct yet harmoniously resonant practices. Both artists delve into the transformative power of geometric abstraction and traditional techniques to evoke a deep sense of nostalgia and emotional reflection, creating a dialogue that spans cultural and personal landscapes.

Azadeh Gholizadeh's practice navigates the intricate relationship between landscape and memory, examining how absence, distance, and longing shape our experiences. Utilizing traditional fiber art techniques, Gholizadeh crafts needlepoint tapestries and sculptural installations that draw upon the aesthetics of Persian manuscripts and modernist grids. Her work transforms photographs of landscapes into pixelated tapestries, stripping away extraneous details to distill the essence of memory and emotion. Through this meticulous process, she reflects on the fragility and inconsistency of the concept of home, imbuing her work with layers of personal and collective memory. Her art serves as a conduit for exploring marginalized and queered perspectives within ever-shifting landscapes, evoking a sense of comfort and refuge through natural elements.

Leslie Wilkes, an abstract artist, similarly engages with geometric motifs and memory, though her focus lies in the realm of pattern-based painting. Drawing inspiration from nostalgic items such as aprons, tablecloths, and curtains, Wilkes creates compositions that elicit a sense of the familiar while keeping precise memories just out of reach. Her work in gouache and oil paintings employs repetitive outlines and variations in form, with color arrangements that are determined spontaneously. This approach results in images that remain unresolved until the final shape and color are applied, maintaining an element of surprise and discovery. Wilkes' recent shift to softer tones along with a more painterly approach, evoke an ethereal response from viewers encouraging them to sort the visual clues into patterns even when none exist.

Together, Gholizadeh and Wilkes offer a multifaceted exploration of how geometric abstraction and traditional techniques can serve as vessels for memory and emotion. Gholizadeh's pixelated tapestries and sculptural installations resonate with Wilkes' pattern-based paintings, creating a visual and conceptual harmony that speaks to the universality of human experience. This exhibition highlights the individual strengths of each artist while underscoring the parallels in their practices, offering viewers a rich experience that bridges past and present, the personal and the collective.

Azadeh Gholizadeh, (b. 1982, Tehran, Iran) earned an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MA in Architecture and Urbanism from Iran University of Science & Technology in Tehran. Gholizadeh has shown in a broad range of locations, including Chicago, IL; Bogota, Columbia; Miami, FL; Philadelphia, PA; and New York, NY She has been awarded residencies at the Arctic Circle Residency,  Saturday, June 22, from 5-7p, Chicago Artist Coalition, and ACRE. In 2022, she was a Chicago Artadia Awardee and Hopper Prize Spring Chapter winner. Her solo booth, part of Curated Spotlight at NADA Miami, was featured in the New York Times's "More Miami Art Fairs to Explore." Azadeh Gholizadeh lives and works in Seattle, WA

Leslie Wilkes (b. 1962, Decatur, GA) received a BA in painting from the University of Texas at Austin and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She attended Skowhegan and was the recipient of the Milton and Sally Avery Fellowship Award at the MacDowell Colony. Wilkes has had solo exhibitions in Dallas, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Austin, New Orleans, Marfa and Milan. Her work was published in Texas Abstract Modern/Contemporary and on the book jacket of James Elkins, The Object Stares Back. Her work has been reviewed in The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Denver Times, The Dallas Morning News, Southwest Spirit Magazine, Big Bend Sentinel and New Art Examiner. Wilkes lives and works in Marfa, TX.  ###"