Ahmad Shafaie

Born in Yazd in 1946, Ahmad Shafaie grew up and studied in Tehran , Iran . Ahmad’s fascination with art and literature began from a young age and was facilitated by the fact that both his parents were educators. Ahmad began painting in high school and studied architecture at the University of Tehran where he graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts. He went on to work for several years at the Iranian delegation to the World Fair (Expositions Universelles).

Ahmad’s art is the product of the various experiences and interests that have influenced his life. Ahmad has traveled widely and his interaction with different cultures has influenced Ahmad as a person and is visible in his artwork. At the same time, Ahmad’s love of Persian culture, notably art and literature, remains at the core of his person and his art, which spans both painting and poetry. In this way, Ahmad establishes a close relationship between his paintings and sketches on the one hand and his writing and words on the other.

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The evolution of Ahmad’s art throughout the years reflects his own personal history and that of many Iranians. His paintings and sketches of the late 70’s and early 80’s, often including human figures in sparse landscapes, are influenced by the politically charged atmosphere and the anxiety felt in Iran during the revolutionary period and the subsequent war. Ahmad’s artwork of the late 80’s and early 90’s, largely unpopulated landscapes with solitary trees, can be seen as reflecting Ahmad’s own experience in leaving his homeland and immigrating to the US. From the late 90’s Ahmad has begun to use more vibrant colors and abstract forms in his paintings and more recently he has reincorporated human forms into his work, this time with color and energy.

For Ahmad, each phase in life brings with it a new expression in art, but throughout it all he tries to express hope in his drawings, whether it be through his old tall brown trees or his bright, colorful figures.

Ahmad has participated in group exhibitions in Iran and the US .

Ahmad and his wife Mahvash have two sons, Alireza and Amirpasha, and currently live in Palo Alto , California.