Avish Khebrehzadeh wants her audience to draw their own conclusions about her art.

 “I don’t want to dictate what I want to say, or tell them what to think,” Khebrehzadeh said. “I let them form their own opinions.”

 “Animated Drawing,” a new exhibition celebrating the artwork of the Iranian-born artist, opened in the Collins C. Diboll Gallery, located on the fourth floor of the Monroe Library.

Her work in the current exhibit is based on Iranian writer Gholamhossien Saedi’s stories.

“Animated Drawing” is presented as a part of Mark Grote’s Visiting Artist Lecture Series. After Grote viewed her work in Rome in 2007, he said he knew he wanted to share it with others.

“It changed my perspective, moved me” Grote said. “I went on a quest to bring it (the exhibit) here.”

Tuesday marked the opening of the contemporary artist’s public showing of the three animation pieces on display.

“I chose animation because of storytelling,” Khebrehzadeh said. “Animation is moving. Drawing is not moving, so I combined the two. I put the drawing and painting as background and the animation is happening on top.”

Khebrehzadeh was introduced to the arts by her father as a child and began drawing at 17. Her work has since won many awards and has been displayed in exhibitions in countries such as the United

Kingdom, Iran and Italy.

Though her work is definitely modern, she said she thought it is still important to have some classical art education, so that there is a good foundation.

Khebrehzadeh said she draws influences from pre-Renaissance art and arte povera, an Italian modernist movement that translates to “poor art.”

“My artwork is everything. It’s what I do. It’s what I did all my life. I was delighted when Mark invited me,” she said.

She said she is also careful about her use of color. In her oldest animations, the color choices are soft and muted. She said, “Color distracts people from what I want to say. I don’t have a good relationship with color.”

Khebrehzadeh explained her art style as contemporary and figurative. Her work is simplistic and heavily based on characters or figures, such as animals.

“Animals have always been in my work. I use animals as a projection to explain behavior,” Khebrehzadeh said.

Khebrehzadeh said she works mostly with pencil and paper. “I like to use a pencil and paper because you still have the breath of the artist in the work. If there’s too much animation, the art is not alive,” she said. “Drawing is so personal for me. The touch of the pencil is liberating, like going to the gym.”

Hope Henderson, graphic design sophomore, was one of the students that appreciated Khebrehzadeh’s art.

“I like the fact that she is experimental with her drawings and paintings as far as her animations go. My favorite piece was the most recent animation. It had depth to it, which allowed me to feel as if I was a part of the animation,” Henderson said.

“Animated Drawing” will be on display until Jan. 29.

Sable LeFrere can be reached at [email protected]