Pegah Salimi

Pegah’s paintings are a reflection of the zeitgeist of this era, in the Middle East in particular and in the world in a broader sense. The paradox of being modern in a reactionary context.

At the first glance, we see sadness, probably representing traumas of a desperate human, or a society or even the world. At a closer look though, her portraits recall the mood in the works of Expressionist artists after the world wars. An effort toward introspection to redefine the self among all the agonies and not a reflection of a nihilistic mood.

Pegah is a woman from the Middle East, lived through the traumas of the Iran-Iraq war and studied art in the Academy of Fine arts in Rome. Two different lives with all the contradictions. War and torment has not subsided for the modern human.

Her figures look directly at us, inviting us to think deeper about the persona, and not the appearance. These apparitions are telling us stories, in which we are the characters. Pegah invites us to revolt against the ongoing suffering. So, there is hope. It’s a call to action, hence vibrant colors in a dark context.

Pegah was born in 1982 and grew up in the context of a raging war. She studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome to receive her Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees. She lives and works in Tehran.

Solo Exhibitions:

  • 2022 ‘We are the Happy Flowers’ at Rischee Art Gallery
  • 2019 ‘The Dying’ at Hepta Art Gallery
  • 2016 ‘The Home’ at Jorjani Art Gallery
  • 2014 ‘The Lost Ones’ at Laleh Art Gallery

Group Exhibitions:

  • 2022 Hoom Art Gallery2021 Negar Art Gallery
  • 2021 Hengam Art Gallery2019 Negar Art Gallery
  • 2019 Aliha Art Gallery aliha
  • 2018 Artists Forum Gallery
  • 2018 Asia House Gallery, London
  • 2018 ‘Print and Design Exhibition’, Gutenberg, Sweden
  • 2017 Fereshteh Art Gallery
  • 2016 Teatro dei discuri al Quirinale, Rome, Italy
  • 2013 Hena Art Gallery
  • 2012 Vittoria Art Gallery, Rome, Italy
  • 2011 Gallery della pagina, Rome, Italy
  • 2010 Gallery Sala Deghli Irafi, Spoletto, Italy
  • 2007 ‘The 7th Painting Biennale’
  • 2006 Saba Art and Culture Institute
  • 2005 Tehran University Gallery

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