ARTIST STATEMENT
I was conceived in Iran in the 1970’s. I believe the salt of the Persian Gulf and Caspian Sea, the sands of Lūt, and the iron of the Zagros Mountains formed me into the woman I am today. My American family lived in Tehran, Ahvaz, and Abadan before being forced to flee the country in months prior to the revolution. My father, a chemist for the petroleum industry, used to trade our children’s clothes with nomadic Kurds in black tents. My sister and I were very young when we fled, but beautiful Iran has been the backdrop for many family stories and photos. We have such fond memories of the Iranian People before this tyrannical regime. Our hearts are breaking. One thing I can do to overcome this feeling of helplessness is to paint about it. I saw firsthand a progressive country forced backwards in time.
I saw women’s autonomy snatched away by a thieving regime. And I am seeing, firsthand, women’s autonomy being chiseled away in my home state of Texas. I am compelled to fight for women’s body autonomy here and abroad, because Women’s Rights are Human Rights, and silence is complacency. I love Iran, The Lion and The Sun, and hope for bloodshed to be replaced by Red Tulips for the Women of Iran.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Celeste Seitz creates minimalist art in her studio at The Millhouse, located in the Historic Cotton Mill near Downtown McKinney, Texas. Seitz spent her formative years in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, before coming to The States in the mid 1980’s. Her first memories are of the beauty and diversity of multicultural Singapore. This early Asian experience left a lasting influence on Seitz, as seen in her life and her art. Seitz has studied Asian cuisine, Muay Thai Martial Arts, and continuously studies calligraphy.
She is the daughter of artist Jim Seitz and designer Connie Seitz, who have greatly supported her art career. Seitz currently resides in McKinney with her husband and their many, many children. Seitz leads workshops and lectures related to the practice of the Ensō. She is also the Program Coordinator for the annual McKinney Art Studio Tour, a citywide educational event coordinating over 70 local artists opening their studios to the public for two days in November. Seitz’ work has been featured in the Visual Arts League of Allen’s Woman Life Freedom Exhibit, Glorious Greens Exhibit, and various member shows. Her work has hung in the Heard-Craig Center for the Arts, a Smithsonian affiliate, for the Art Meets Poetry Exhibit, where she received a People’s Choice Award. This month, Seitz teams up with sculptor, Kat Warwick of Dallas, for their duo exhibit, LIFTED, at The Cove Gallery in McKinney.
© Celeste Seitz