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. Examining the natural tendencies of material, being aware of how they function and behave, I focus on the act of perception by 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.

My ambition is to make the experience of viewing the work come alive. I want to activate the viewer's sensibilities- to relive the making of a piece, to follow the line, to feel the structure, to become curious and to be swept up in the aesthetics of each piece.


BIO
Rana is an installation-based artist living and working in Chicago. She has participated in several group exhibitions and has taught at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the Fiber and Material Studies Department as well as Lill Street Art Center in the Textile Department. In the Summer 2010, she was an Artist-in-Residence at the Ox-Bow School of Art. In 2008, she co-founded Spoke, an artist-run studio/project space in the West Loop of Chicago. Since then, she has been serving as studio manager and creative organizer. Rana has 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.