FARAHNAZ SAMARI – BIOGRAPHY
PERSIAN PASSION, PRIDE, AND PERSONAE
Growing up in Iran, Farahnaz is constantly inspired by the vivid memories of her childhood – the smells, the sights, the sun drenched landscapes. She started her painting journey in high school, and now it’s more than twenty-five years since she began to put paint to canvas professionally. Farah as her friends and numerous Vancouver artists like to call her, is an honours graduate in Fine Art & Interior Design at the prestigious University of Tehran. The College of Fine Arts at this famed institution, is one of the oldest, largest & most prestigious schools of higher learner in all the Middle East. Admission to the university’s renowned undergraduate and graduate programs is very competitive and is limited to the top one percent of Persian students. In Canada, Farah further extended her art education as a graduate of Emily Carr University in Vancouver. Farah has showcased her art work in more than 80 solo and group exhibitions in Iran and Canada. She’s participated several times in art battles in Canada and she is twice a ‘Battle of the Brush’ Champion at art competitions in Vancouver, Canada. With a flair to the abstract, Farah’s art work is highly contemporary and formative, and is increasingly being purchased by collectors, designers and galleries across North America. Listening closely to her moods and muse, Farah’s inspiration changes over time. From landscapes and urban colours, to interiors and smells, her time in Vancouver and BC’s west coast continues to inspire her with new ideas for her art
Artist Statement
“My art on many occasions is one of contrast – stillness with motion. Use of colour and hue based on what I’m feeling. My work captures the memories and dreams of my childhood. I always wished to live near a harbour, close to the ocean. Images of floating in an emerald blue sea have been my inspiration for this series of paintings. Living on the edge of the ocean gives me a positive feeling of silence and energy. In this series of paintings, I’ve given way to a tender soft background, with the foreground influenced by a duality of cubism and colour. My memories play an important role in many areas, they’re my, personal philosophy to my work. To me this is vital – both to knowledge of our planet, of Persia, and my past in particular. The most beautiful things are memories and the moment that goes with them. How can we separate our past from the present? We take those memories with us everywhere, every time. Even when our life flashes before our eyes at the moment we die. We have memories. They are seared into the deep recesses of our brain, similar to taking a photo. Every birthday, every celebration, even a sweet taste or smell calls upon those memories. Actor Jeremy Irons said: “We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they are called memories. Some take us forward, they are called dreams.””
