Untitled, 2025

About Azin Zolfaghari

Azin Zolfaghari (b. 1982) holds a bachelor's and master's degree in painting from the Art University of Tehran. Her artworks have been showcased in several group exhibitions both within and outside Iran, and her debut solo exhibition was in 2021. Zolfaghari was honored with the 2022 Sovereign Asian Art Prize in Hong Kong and served as a juror in 2023. Azin Zolfaghari's works delve into the themes of decline, social passivity, and the absence of human presence in urban life. She portrays a distorted sense of identity, isolation, suffocation, and repression, reflecting a lack of open dialogue within the ruling structure. Her works are characterized by closed frames, spaces devoid of depth and perspective, and a color palette dominated by gray hues. Elements such as walls, windows, vestibules, and curtains imposed on windows are recurrent in her works, evoking a sense of limitation and suffocation within urban spaces. Additionally, Zolfaghari's struggle with chronic autoimmune disease, which has caused skin deterioration and dryness, has profoundly influenced her artistic expression. Her body and the urban atmosphere that prevails in her works, both as her habitat, are wounded by the dominant safety and security system. The underlying geometric structures in Zolfaghari's paintings are reminiscent of Minimalism and also reveal her deep-rooted interest in the architectural depictions in Iranian miniature paintings. Her use of materials reflects an experimental approach that complements her thematic concerns and visual language, incorporating stone powder, paint powder, cement, adhesives, and industrial paints.