"My paintings are a commentary on the history of painting and image making, and I intentionally draw from a variety of sources to create a multifaceted visual language. "

‍ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: What originally inspired you to become an artist.

Well, I decided to become an artist at a very early age, around 13 or 14 years old. As a child, I always had a strong desire to excel at something, and initially, I thought it might be sports. However, I soon realised that wasn't my passion. I continued searching for something that felt like "my thing," and ultimately, art became that thing.

At around the age of 14, I became interested in skateboarding, and through that, I discovered graffiti art. Graffiti art led me to taking art classes in high school to improve my skills, and I fell in love with art. I sat my parents down and told them that I wanted to be an artist and go to art school, even though they had hoped I would become a doctor. They were initially skeptical, but I knew which school I wanted to attend, and I was determined to make a living off my art.

From a young age, I had a knack for making up my mind about things quickly, and becoming an artist was no exception. I attended the exact school I had told my parents I would, and now I make art full time . Looking back, it's interesting to reflect on how I knew what I wanted to do from such a young age, but it ultimately led me to where I am today.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: Do you still practice graffiti?

No, I don't do graffiti anymore. However, the influence of graffiti is still present in my work in various ways, such as the use of bold colours, obsessive ornamentation, and embellishment. These are all elements that are prominent in graffiti art and are also elements that I am interested in exploring. If you take a closer look at my work, you can see these lingering elements of the visual language of graffiti.

However, I don't want these influences to overshadow my work or make it seem like I am simply creating graffiti art and putting it in a gallery setting. My work is its own entity, and while it may contain traces of my graffiti background, it isn’t related to that historical lineage.

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As I've gotten older and gained more experience, I've become more conscious of what works in my artwork, and I can harness that energy more effectively.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: Right, of course not. And besides the graffiti, how else do you think your background has shaped your artistic practice?

My background has had a profound impact on my artistic practice. Growing up in the DC area, I was involved in the punk and skateboarding community, which was politically and socially conscious. The exposure to those ideas and ways of thinking influenced the themes in my work and the type of art I create. Moreover, the DIY aspect of that world has informed my artistic journey, and I often incorporate it into my work. It may sound cliche, but it has truly shaped the decisions I've made and the way I've gone about things. When I moved to America, skateboarding was one of the first things I got into, and that subculture has been a significant influence on my work and me in general.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: You talked a bit about your artistic journey. How do you feel your artwork and even your creative process has evolved over time as you've been making work?

Well, when I was younger, I often got lucky with my artwork. For instance, during my undergrad thesis show, I created a personal body of work that was well received, and this helped me get into a lot of great grad schools. At the time, I thought it was just because I was talented and had good ideas, but looking back, I realised that I stumbled upon a good idea by accident. I didn't have a sophisticated enough understanding of art history, image making, or artistic strategies to build on that idea and create even stronger work.

As I've gotten older and gained more experience, I've become more conscious of what works in my artwork, and I can harness that energy more effectively. I'm able to experiment with different materials and evolve my work while still maintaining consistency, which is something I feel fortunate about. I've also learned that age and time are important factors in the artistic process. Many young artists can create incredible work early on, but without a deep understanding of why or how their work is successful, they can lose their way. It takes time and experience to fully harness the positives of one's work and avoid failures.

Now that I'm at a point where I can make my work do what it needs to do, I feel like I have more control over the direction it takes. This is an important realisation that took me a long time to reach.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: Yes. And I have seen that you have worked with several different materials and relations and things like that. But before I go into that, I really would like to kind of dive a bit more into your particular themes. I know a lot of them seem to be recurring. And you talked a bit about how maybe the way you think about things and the way you structure things has evolved, but what about the themes themselves? How do you select them? And then how do you go about structuring them into artwork?

Well, I've been creating paintings of veiled figures for about 12 years now. It wasn't until several years into this body of work that I realised my interest lay in building upon, abstracting, deconstructing, and expanding ideas around portraiture. This includes self-portraits or portraits of other people, and how to breathe new life into this art form that has been around for centuries.

Even if a painting is more landscape-based or doesn't include a physical figure, I still approach it through ideas and notions revolving around portraiture. This has been liberating for me because it means that I don't have to adhere to a rigid definition of portraiture, and can make abstractions while still discussing the concept of portraiture.

A significant portion of my artwork often depicts self-portraits because I am intimately familiar with my own psyche and emotions, which allows me to create authentic pieces of art. My portraits mainly centre around various ideas related to immigration, social issues, and the complexities of being an Iranian American living in today's society. Through my work, I seek to explore and navigate the intricate nuances of identity, culture, and belonging that come with this unique perspective.

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My paintings are a commentary on the history of painting and image making, and I intentionally draw from a variety of sources to create a multifaceted visual language.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: You also create this series of almost storyboard type paintings that I believe I read that was inspired by you're child and comic books even? Where you broke up the paintings into these different almost storyboard like layout.

I see my grid paintings as an ongoing series of self-portraits. They started as a way to create parables about life lessons and family values to guide my son in case something were to happen to my wife and me. I wondered what we could leave behind to show him who we were and what we believed in.

Each painting starts with a line of text that serves as a warning or moral lesson, and the images in the painting are based on that text. These paintings become visual puzzles that convey important messages that I think are crucial to pass on to my son. To me, this is the purest form of portraiture because my beliefs and values are a reflection of who I am. They describe my moral compass, my fears, my desires, and my hopes and dreams. They convey a much deeper understanding of who I am than a mere rendering of my physical appearance, which can be misleading.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: It could even be a future portrait of your son, if that's kind of the lessons that you're imparting on them.

Absolutely.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: Are there any other themes or topics that you're thinking about maybe exploring in the near future?

I recently opened a museum show at the Fowler Museum, which explores themes revolving around socio-economic issues, immigration, and cultural identity in America. Additionally, I have another show titled "A War on Wars" opening at the Shulamit Nazarian Gallery in LA at the end of February. The idea for this show came to me as I watched the war in Ukraine unfold on TV and social media. Watching images of cities blown to bits and people running into shelters brought back my memories of being a young kid during the Iran-Iraq war. I remembered my family running out of buildings during air raids and me playing in my grandmother's bomb shelter. These memories made me reflect on how these experiences have shaped me as a person and as a father raising a young child.

I often begin my work from a personal place, but I strive to create works that are open to interpretation and universal enough for the viewer to see themselves in it. I believe that great artwork functions as a marker for the time in which the artist lives, serving as a commentary or documentation of that moment. I am striving to create work that is timeless and goes beyond my personal experiences, resonating with a broader audience.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: And, even stylistically your work does seem somewhat influenced by ancient art almost?

I am interested in exploring the intersection of old and new, as well as the juxtaposition of Eastern and Western influences, and the relationship between high and low art. My paintings are a commentary on the history of painting and image making, and I intentionally draw from a variety of sources to create a multifaceted visual language.

I try to avoid creating work that is tied to a specific aesthetic or technique. Instead, I want my work to borrow from the rich history of visual language and defy easy categorisation.

Rather than simply referencing pop art, street art, or illustration, I find it more interesting to mix these references with Persian miniatures or Dutch and Flemish painting from the 17th century. I want to create images that are visually and conceptually complex, and that invite multiple interpretations. I want to create work that reflects the eclectic mix of influences and information that characterises our current cultural moment. It's like scrolling through social media and seeing a post from a museum next to a meme account and a serious news article - all of these disparate elements are part of our shared experience, and my paintings seek to capture that richness and complexity.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: I think it really comes across as well. And I do personally feel that they’re timeless.

Thanks. I'm trying.

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I believe that being an artist is like exercising a muscle. The more you exercise it, the more confidence you build, and the more you understand your own visual language and how your ideas are formulated.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: I mean, it also looks effortless. So I know you say you're trying, but it seems to come naturally to you, but obviously it's years and years of building up to this.

I'm now in my 40s, and it has taken many paintings to get to a point where I feel fearless in my work. I'm not afraid of making mistakes anymore. When I was younger, I used to be scared of creating a bad painting or making a wrong move. But now, I feel like there's a race against time because I have so much I want to say within my work. The language and message of my paintings are clear to me, but finding the time to fully express them is a constant challenge. I always feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: Yes. Definitely. Are there any particular pieces that you'd like to highlight or talk about or even maybe that you felt were a turning point that helped you understand where you were going?

There is actually a painting in the Fowler Museum show called "Eternal Companion" that I made in 2014. When we put it in the show, I realised how much I still love it, which is rare for me to feel about such an old painting of mine. It was a turning point for me because it led up to the grid paintings that I am doing now, but at the time, I hadn't quite figured out how to replicate its success. So I didn't make another painting like it for almost 5-6 years. Seeing the painting again made me realise what was working in it and why, and it was really great to experience it in person see the progression of the work.

I think my self-doubt had a lot to do with it. I didn't feel secure enough in my own work and ideas to just dive in head first and pick up where “Eternal Companion” left off. But as I get older and mature, I feel safer and more confident in just making what needs to be made without doubting myself. And I think that's a great place to be.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: That must be quite liberating.

Yeah it is. It's very freeing because most artists will tell you that's usually not the case. And it wasn't for many years for myself.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: So do you feel that having had great exhibitions, including museum shows has almost informed your process as well? Just being able to reflect and look back on all these pieces that you've made in the past, do you feel like that's an important part of the process?

Yeah, I believe that being an artist is like exercising a muscle. The more you exercise it, the more confidence you build, and the more you understand your own visual language and how your ideas are formulated. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts to this process unless you're a natural savant. This process takes a lot of hard work, especially if you primarily work with painting, which is an old medium that makes it difficult to break new ground or create something that's even a remix of another idea. It becomes even harder with painting because you must work hard to add something new to the mix and make it worthwhile. So, I'm always thinking about how I can say something that hasn't already been said. It's a challenging task to add to the conversation without just repeating what has already been said. I don't want to be a human photocopy machine because that's not interesting.

When I see artists essentially copying another artist's work, which is a big trend right now, it bothers me. Some artists are making a less expensive version of another successful artist's work, and people collect it. Some collectors love it because they can't afford the original million-dollar version, so they settle for the $100,000 version. While it's okay to be inspired by someone, it's not okay to photocopy someone's whole aesthetic. It's pointless and doesn't add anything new to the art world. This trend has become increasingly popular in the last five to six years, and it's a bizarre phenomenon that everyone can see.

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I find that collectors who are drawn to the stained glass works are the ones who collect my work in-depth, come to the studio to see works in progress and engage with me on a deep level.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: Definitely not. Obviously painting has always been your main medium, and you spoke about how challenging that is, but you've also explored lots of different other mediums. Would you like to talk about that a little bit.

At the Fowler Museum show, there are a variety of artworks on display including paintings, sculptures, and stained glass works. Although I primarily paint, I always push myself to explore other mediums and make bodies of work that go beyond my comfort zone. Each medium allows me to say something different, like speaking a different language. It can be challenging, but I believe it adds another dimension to my work. For instance, I have been creating these tondo paintings with botanical imager around the edges for years, and the idea behind them is to have a circular garland with a void centre, where the viewer can project themselves into the artwork and complete the image. When I exhibited one of these paintings in New York City, we caught people come in from off the street to take selfies in front of them, using the painting as a decorative border. Although they weren't necessarily art fans, it was still fascinating to see how people were drawn to it subconsciously. This led to an opportunity to create a mirrored edition of one of the tondo paintings with Avant Arte, where the viewer can look into the void and see their reflection. This is something I can't do with painting, but I can explore with this piece using digital printing. This helps me expand the dialogue within the work, try out new materials, and keep things exciting in the studio. The experience of creating stained glass pieces also teaches me something new about painting, making the paintings better. It's like a dialogue back and forth between different mediums, making the work richer and more complex.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: Right. You're very reflective and I feel like that precisely helps the evolution of your work.

Certainly. As an artist, I have a constant conversation with my work. It would be easy for me to continue making 3x4 foot paintings until the end of time since they are easy to sell, affordable, and fit in small spaces. However, I felt compelled to experiment with stained glass, despite its high cost and labor-intensive process. At first, people were perplexed by my decision, wondering why I was working with stained glass. But as they began to understand the medium's ability to enhance the content of my work, they grew more interested. I use a combination of stained glass, which has been in use for centuries, and cutting-edge fused glass technology to make my stained glass pieces. By doing so, I am bringing together the old with the new, marrying the ancient with the contemporary in my art, which is the focal point of my work. Recently, I had a show at Dio Horia in Athens, Greece, featuring exclusively stained glass pieces, and it was very exciting for me.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: And even the nature of stained glass, the way it has to be kind of separated fits in with the grid idea as well.

I find that collectors who are drawn to the stained glass works are the ones who collect my work in-depth, come to the studio to see works in progress and engage with me on a deep level. They see that it’s an important part of my practice and want their collections to reflect it. Additionally, the stained glass works look incredible when they are lit up. Since there aren't that many contemporary artists working in stained glass, it’s exciting to explore an under-utilised medium. The fabricators I work with and I have invented dozens of techniques just to make my stained glass work. This is extremely exciting for me and for the fabricators, as it allows us to explore new avenues that they don’t typically explore when working on traditional stained glass works for churches. We are sandblasting glass, silk screening, and using water jets to cut small pieces that the hand could never cut. We're doing things that they've never even thought about doing, which is rewarding."

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: Oh wow, that’s amazing. I didn't realise you were silk screening and sandblasting the glass as well?

I collaborate with a studio called Judson Studios, which has been around for over 100 years and is now in its 5th generation of stained glass makers. They are fearless and we use all sorts of experimental techniques to create my works, breaking new ground in the field. Judson Studios is one of the biggest innovators in the stained glass industry and it’s been a thrill to work with the over the last seven years.

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My museum show will be at the Fowler Museum in Los Angeles. It's an overview of my work over the past decade, featuring around 25 paintings.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: Well, I can only imagine. So it seems like you've also worked with lots of different people to get your ideas across and to bring your work to life. How is that? Obviously you don't shy away from it, but how do you feel working with these different collaborators and collaborating on different projects?

Through collaboration, you can learn and expand the breadth of your work. Two heads are always better than one, so I welcome it. Right now, I'm working on some bronze sculptures and aluminium CNC cut sculptures, but conceptually, all the work is consistent. It's about the same ideas, just with different materials. Collaborating with others is just part of the process. When I work on public art, engineers and architects need to be involved, and one person can't do it alone. For larger projects, collaboration is necessary to create things that function on a monumental scale and meet safety codes. It's fun, exciting, and it informs my paintings. When I return to my studio after working with fabricators or on public art, I feel energised, and that energy feeds my paintings and informs my studio work in many ways.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: Yes, it all sounds extremely exciting and it must be completely inspirational to see all these different creations come to life and all these different mediums. Do you have any particular upcoming exhibitions or projects besides the The gallery that you just mentioned as well that you're particularly excited about?

I think the main event I'm looking forward to is the upcoming show at Shulamit Nazarian which opens in a couple of weeks. We will be installing a large neon work on the gallery facade in support of the protests in Iran. I have been deeply affected by the horrific situation in Iran and wanted to do something to amplify the voices of the protestors, get press coverage for the protests, and ultimately donate money to worthy causes in hopes of making the world more equitable and safer for everyone.

Neon is a material that I have never worked with before so there was a big learning curve. I recently saw the piece lit up for the first time at the fabricator's shop, and it looks spectacular. I am absolutely thrilled with the results and can't wait for it to be mounted in Hollywood and glow at night.

The piece will be mounted on the gallery facade for about six months, after which it will be sold, and all the proceeds from the sale will be donated to three human rights organisations. We launched a GoFundMe campaign to fund the work and we received an incredible response from the community.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: That's great. And when are the dates for the show?

The show, I believe, opens up on the 17th of February, so it'll coincide with the Frieze art fair in L.A.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: What other upcoming shows are you involved in? I saw something about the De Young Museum

The De Young Museum has just acquired one of my pieces for their collection. However, my museum show will be at the Fowler Museum in Los Angeles. It's an overview of my work over the past decade, featuring around 25 paintings. Additionally, I will have a show at Shulamit Nazarian, showcasing 10 new paintings and three large-scale sculptures. At the end of March, I will also have a solo booth at Art Basel - Hong Kong with Denny Gallery. It’s been a busy 2023 so far.

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Patience is essential for artists, even though it can be challenging.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: Do you have any advice for other artists? What do you think is the most important skill for a studio artist or an artist should master in order to be successful?

Patience is essential for artists, even though it can be challenging. Waiting until the work is fully developed and turning down poor opportunities requires patience. At the start of an artistic career, it may feel like success will never come, causing artists to focus on things beyond their control rather than their work.

Unfortunately, some young artists rush their artistic process and allow unscrupulous dealers to overprice their art. These artists may think that having one or two good shows will secure their future success. However, the art market can be fickle, and many hot artists from a decade ago are now out of work. It's important to play the long game and be patient rather than raise prices too quickly and associate with unsavoury dealers. Patience is essential when it comes to art, as it is a marathon, not a sprint.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: Definitely, and I think there's lots of reasons that happens, but in the end, once your price goes above a certain point, the audience is just reduced so dramatically.

That's right. If a young artist has only a one-page resume and is selling their work for six figures without being represented by one of the top galleries, they are in trouble. This situation is not sustainable. Unfortunately, I've seen this happen frequently with young artists. Someone convinces them to raise their prices, and then the galleries will move on to the next hot artist if they can't sell the work. Then they are stuck. They can't change their name, and they can't reduce their prices. It's a difficult situation to be in.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: Right. So obviously working with good galleries has been important to you and making the right relationships?

Yeah, it's crucial to think about your career long-term. Personally, I aspire to have a successful career and exhibit my work even when I'm 90 years old. I don't want to have only two successful years and then find myself stuck in a situation I didn't want to be in. I didn't experience overnight success, but I have friends who did. Unfortunately, many of them no longer have successful careers, or their careers have significantly reduced. Artists need to understand that the art market is incredibly fickle and always searching for the latest trend.

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ARTCOLLECTORNEWS: And what do you think has been, besides being patient, what do you think has been the biggest challenge in your career?

Although I've been fortunate to have some success, it wasn't easy, and I always felt like I had to work twice as hard as others. It took a while for my work to mature and for me to understand how it functions, which parts worked well, and how to exploit it effectively. Once I did that, things changed for the better. But it required a lot of patience, which was the most significant hurdle. Living in a city like LA, which has had dramatic market growth, made it even more challenging. I attended UCLA, which was a renowned grad program, and many of my friends experienced overnight success. It was tough to wait patiently for my turn. However, nothing is guaranteed in the art world, and having a long-term outlook is crucial. Playing the long game can only help in art.

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