Vian Sora: Tepe Gawra

Born in Baghdad in 1976, Vian Sora explores the scars of Iraqi history through a deeply personal work. Her first solo exhibition, “Tepe Gawra,” presented by Bortolami Gallery, unveils a series of previously unseen abstract paintings. Created using complex techniques – acrylic pours, superimposed pigments, lapis lazuli, and oil paint – these works bear witness to an intense memory and an exploration of identity. Sora, who spent a residency at Civitella Ranieri, is particularly inspired by the historical use of lapis lazuli, this precious blue pigment. The exhibition, which runs from March 6th to April 18th, 2026, sheds light on the tension between the traumas of the past and the search for a future, a palpable tension in the artist’s compositions. She explores the transformation of pain into beauty, as she herself has expressed. Admission is $35 for adults.