Tehran-born Sahar Khalkhalian, granddaughter of painter Houshang Pezeshknia, channels Iran-Iraq War fragility and migration – from Germany to Vancouver/Dubai – into faceless figures of isolation and fractured identity. This Emaho interview delves into her intuitive, emotion-fueled canvases, Turbulent exhibition, and New York’s pivotal shows.
Chilean painter Katarina Abović (b.1988) channels her painter grandmother’s influence and depression’s healing into Dynamic Painting—blurring body, energy, and abstraction. From Chilean roots to residencies in Vietnam, Honduras, and Croatia, this Emaho interview unveils her nomadic quest for consciousness’s “unexplainable space” through layered canvases.
Tehran-based artist Pooya Aryanpour, born into a legacy of Iranian intellectuals, discusses his homeschooled roots, passion for painting, and projects like “Gone with the Wind.” He explores Iran’s vibrant art scene, balancing Persian heritage with global discourse through audacious innovation and cultural deconstruction.
Jordanian artist Maram Ali discusses her evolution from Impressionist landscapes to powerful portraits of Gaza’s martyrs. Born in Irbid, she paints with responsibility and beauty to honor silenced stories, witnessing injustice through emotionally charged, ethical works that demand global attention.
Iranian artist Niki Fallahfar explains how constraints sharpened her subtle embedding of desire, intimacy and bodily sensation in works like “Noah’s Ark.” Pushing beyond direct representation, she crafts playful, unsettling narratives that reveal the unspoken through humble materials and indirect gestures.
Turkish illustrator Ece Haskan discusses how self-portraits and depictions of the women around her shape a visual world of sisterhood, friendship and vulnerability, blending dark humour and tenderness to explore identity, emotion and everyday survival from a distinctly female perspective.
