Artist Statement
I treat memory as a living, breathing presence throughout all my work . In painting, I draw on fragments of my childhood—shifting black foliage and babbling water crawling through the ancient Hirkani Forest. Working with layered surfaces, vibrant yet dreamlike colors, and organic forms that echo worlds of wonder. Through my surreal compositions, spaces unfold where boundaries blur. Each piece becomes an invitation to enter a world where objects, images, and places are not static but animated—alive with possibility, transformation, and imagination.
In installation, I respond to contemporary urban life—its fleeting rhythms, overlooked objects, and layered environments. I believe every material carries its own aesthetic, its own history. By recontextualizing these objects—placing them where they do not “belong”—I invite viewers to see the precarious, fragile, and transformative nature of existence. This process is both playful and untamed, allowing unexpected connections to emerge between the material and the memory it stirs.
Across both practices, I try to revive memory through color, texture, and form, creating spaces where the past and present overlap. These choices are not meant to clarify reality. They are meant to hold it in a dreamlike state. Here, chaos, wonder, and unfolding visions move side by side.
bio
Navai Toly Arimpuru is an Iranian-American artist and educator based in Upland, California. Her paintings and installations explore the intersections of memory, nature, and contemporary life.
Navai holds an MFA in Multidisciplinary Art from Claremont Graduate University (2023) and a BFA in Studio Art from the University of South Florida (2021).
Her work has been featured in solo exhibitions at the LMF gallery (Sierra Madre, MT), San Antonio Gardens (Pomona, CA), and in group exhibitions at venues such as La Sierra University (Riverside, CA), Tamarisk Country Club, (Rancho Mirage, CA), Nomad III – Contemporary (Torrance, CA), and Square I (Upland, CA). Navai received the Karl Benjamin Award for artistic achievement in 2023.
In addition to her studio practice, Navai teaches painting, sculpture, and 3D foundation at the University of La Verne, California. From 2023-2024, she taught art at Tierra Del Sol, where she mentored adults with developmental disabilities.