“I’m drawn to the space between the known and the unknown, and color opens the path.”
Background
My mom told me that I started scribbling before I started talking. I believe that is why painting is my primary method of expression. I was born in Tabriz, the capital city of Iranian Azerbaijan. Tabriz is the city of carpets and miniatures. As a child, I was inspired by colorful abstract motifs on rugs. I started painting at a very early age and won the “Best Young Artist” prize at age nine among the local schools. I moved to France and England during my youth. I earned a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and Textile Design and a master’s degree in Digital Application Design from the University of Manchester, UK, before settling in the DC area, where I took training from the founders and followers of Washington Color School starting in the ’90s.
I have worked in various creative fields throughout my career. As a fabric designer, graphic designer, art director, and currently a full-time artist at Torpedo Factory Art Center (Studio 5), I have relied solely on the fine arts and my ongoing painting practice as a solid foundation for my creative development. Painting is my livelihood and the foundation of my professional life.
I consider myself more of a colorist. For me, color is everything. Color comes before shape and form. It creates space, dimension, and—most importantly—feelings.
Artist Statement and Process
We humans view the world through a limited spectrum. But what if we had compound eyes like insects, sonar like dolphins, or even used scent to perceive our surroundings? I’m drawn to the space between the known and the unknown. Art is a doorway to the subconscious, and color opens the path. My artistic process is a journey through the colors that come to my eyes, as composers hear notes in their ears. The process is spontaneous. It happens outside of the realm of self and intellect. Forms come in to represent the colors. More than an artist, I consider myself a medium to provide the observer (including myself) access to the unknown or the forgotten. My art is successful only when viewers see their own story in it and connect to themselves and the universe through it. Listening to what others see in my paintings, I am continually surprised by our shared collective memory.
Solo Exhibitions
2026—Hybrid Baroque, IA&A at Hillyer, Washington, DC
2025—Retrospective Solo Show, Pars Place
2025—Parallax Gardens, Black Iris Gallery, Richmond, VA
2024—Parallax Paradigms, ADA Gallery, Washington, DC
2024—Inner Gardens, McLean Project for the Arts, McLean, VA >VIEW VIDEO>
2022—Retrospective, ADA Gallery, Washington, DC
2021—Perspectives, The Art League, Alexandria, VA >VIEW VIDEO>
2020—Water, Fire, Earth and Wind, ADA Gallery, Washington, DC
2017—Colors of Spring, Artomatic, Crystal City, Arlington, VA
2013—Chromatic Fields, DESI Gallery, Pentagon City, Arlington, VA
2011—Divided Colors, PEPCO Edison Gallery, Washington, DC (selected by the Karabakh Foundation) >VIEW VIDEO>
Selected Art Fairs
July 2023—Art Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM (presented by Jen Tough Gallery)
March 2023—Artexpo New York, New York, NY (presented by Jen Tough Gallery)
December 2022—Red Dot Miami, Miami, FL (presented by Jen Tough Gallery)
September 2022—ArtExpo Dallas, Dallas, TX (presented by Jen Tough Gallery)
Residencies
May 2023—Artist residency at AIR Studios by Jen Tough Gallery, Santa Fe, NM (among the first residents; open studio coincided with the gallery's grand opening)
Awards and Recognitions
September 2026—Prey (2025) selected for the juried Made in VA Biennial 2026 at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA — on view September 11, 2026 through March 21, 2027, and featured on the museum's website
September 2026—Selected as one of 36 featured artists for IA&A's annual fundraiser, Auction on the Alley, at Hillyer Contemporary Art Space, Washington, DC (three Spirits Series pieces; Silent Domain featured on the event poster)
September 2026—Honorable Mention Award by Samantha Esmé Williams, September miniMAX Exhibit at The Art League, Alexandria, VA
2026—Invited juror, NOVA Annual Student Art Exhibition, Northern Virginia Community College
2026—Invited to feature eight paintings in the NIH Clinical Center Fine Art Collection (on display January 11–April 5, 2026)
January 2026—Best in Show Award by Xenia Gray, January Open Exhibit at The Art League, Alexandria, VA
November 2025—Selected for the Transformer’s Annual Auction Gala
December 2025—Honorable Mention Award by Amy Waldrop, December Open Exhibit at The Art League, Alexandria, VA
October 2025—Collection selected for and sold at Art Night, the Hickok Cole Annual Art Auction
September 2025—Selected by the DC Commission for Arts and Humanities as the 2026 Art Bank Finalist
August 2025—Honorable Mention Award by Jessica Randolph, August Open Exhibit at The Art League, Alexandria, VA
May 2025—Juror’s Award by Dr. Margaret A. Weitekamp, Curator of the National Air and Space Museum, for the Imaginary Worlds Exhibit at Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center (the Smithsonian)
May 2025—Selected as the featured artist for the McLean Project for the Arts Spring Benefit fundraiser
April 2025—Honorable Mention Award by Elaine Qiu, April miniMAX Exhibit at The Art League, Alexandria, VA
April 2025—Collection selected for and sold at the WPA Annual Auction Gala
March 2025—Featured on the cover of Capitol Hill’s HillRag Magazine
January 2025—Recognized as one of the 51 artists who have shaped, inspired, and impacted the dynamic cultural scene of Washington, DC
November 2024—Collection selected for and sold at the Transformer’s Annual Auction Gala
October 2024—Collection selected for and sold at Art Night, the Hickok Cole Annual Art Auction
April 2024—Selected for Washington Project for the Arts Annual Auction Gala
March 2024—Featured on the cover of Capitol Hill's HillRag Magazine
January 2024—Best in Show Award by Amy Cavanaugh, juror of the 2024 Regional Juried Exhibition at Hill Center, DC
January 2024—Honorable Mention Award by Jorge Alberto, Still Life Exhibit at The Art League, Alexandria, VA
January 2024—Second Place Award by Van Landingham Gallery, Torpedo Factory Art Center, VA
December 2023—Honorable Mention Award by David Culpepper, Open exhibit at The Art League, Alexandria, VA
November 2023—The Art League Award for Best in Show by Chelsey Luster, Open exhibit at The Art League, Alexandria, VA
August 2023—Best in Show Award by Van Landingham Gallery, Torpedo Factory Art Center, VA
August 2022—Honorable Mention by Amber Cowan, Open exhibit at The Art League, Alexandria, VA
May 2022—Honorable Mention by Eliot Dudik, Open exhibit at The Art League, Alexandria, VA
October 2020—Honorable Mention by Raymond Padron, Open exhibit at The Art League, Alexandria, VA
April 2020—Selected for and sold at WPA Annual Auction Gala
December 2019—The Art League Best in Show Award, The Art League, Alexandria, VA > READ INTERVIEW >
June 2018—Anne Banks Award for Best in Show by The Art League, Alexandria, VA > READ INTERVIEW >
April 2018—Equal Merit Award by The Art League, Alexandria, VA
April 2018—Selected by and sold at the WPA Annual Auction Gala
March 2015—Evelyn Turner Best of the Show Award for Abstraction by The Art League in 2015 > READ INTERVIEW >
Selected Exhibitions
I actively show my work in the US at art fairs, solo shows, and group shows. My works are regularly selected and awarded by distinguished local and International jurors with a solid presence in Artsy. Please see Shows for current, upcoming, and past shows.
Education and Training
Master’s in Digital Application Design for Textiles, The University of Manchester, UK, 1987
Bachelor’s in Fine Arts and Textiles, The University of Manchester, UK, 1984
Abstract Art, Training by Sam Gilliam, 1993-1995 and courses by Beverly Ryan and other instructors, The Art League, Alexandria, VA, 2009-2023