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Artist Saif Azzuz American, born 1987

Date2021

MediumAcrylic and enamel on canvas

Dimensionsheight and width: 80 × 60 in. (203.2 × 152.4 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Art Trust Fund

Object number2022.9

On View

On view

Label TextAzzuz’s paintings are founded in his Libyan-Yurok heritage, incorporating Yurok and Arab iconography and imagery in layered, abstract compositions. His art often incorporates silhouettes of both native and invasive plants that he lays on the surface of the canvas and then sprays paint over.

Referencing the landscape, his work comments on a historical loss of land as well as current environmental issues, including California’s ongoing wildfires and the impact of climate change. His color palette is inspired by the state’s color-coded drought and fire maps. Azzuz sees his art as a way of reclaiming the land on the Pacific coast that once belonged to the Yurok people.
[L. Dougherty, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," 2022]ProvenanceCreated by the artist, 2021; with Anthony Meier Fine Arts,
San Francisco, CA
Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–present. Object Rights Statement

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