A line repeatedly appears
suspended, weighted by gravity
unburdened, slacked
oscillating and proceeding through a space
making manifestations of time physical
space tangible

Palpable materials
turn into gestural forms
segmented vignettes
arranged patterns
stripped down to their essential qualities
like bones of a skeletal structure

The ideas for my work are constructed like a piece of music or a dance. They are felt experiences, active engagements that are composed in real time. The work builds from this physical knowledge accumulating in pieces where one action leads to another. I examine the natural tendencies of material being aware of how they function and behave. I focus on the act of perception through exploring balance, tension, impermanence and stability: capturing subtle nuances of the ephemeral and the improvisational. These methods and qualities help inform not only what the final compositions will look like, but also how they will inhabit the space they exist in.


Rana is an installation-based artist living and working in Chicago. She has participated in several group exhibitions in Chicago and has taught at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the Fiber and Material Studies Department and also at Lill Street Art Center in the Textile Department. In the Summer 2010, she will be an Artist-in-Residence at the Ox-Bow School of Art. In 2008, she co-founded Spoke and since then has been working on the creative development of the artist run studio and project space. As well, Rana also works as an Administrator at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and concurrently as an Artist Assistant. She received a BFA in Crafts with a concentration in Fibers from The University of the Arts '01, in Philadelphia, and an MFA in Fiber and Material Studies from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago '08.