Roya Ahmadi | Cupertino, CA
Imagining Ardabil
Oil paint, 30” x 42” (2020)
This painting reclaims the Ardabil Carpets (a pair of carpets made for and taken from a shrine in Iran). The artist has incorporated the colors and patterns of the carpets into a dress, which is worn by a subject with pride and authority, who is seated on a throne inspired by the Naderi Throne of the Iranian shahs. The Ardabil Carpets are rightfully at home.
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Roya Ahmadi
My name is Roya Ahmadi. I am a Muslim-raised, Iranian-American painter and high school student from Cupertino, California. The themes in my work are derived from my cultural identity and reflections on global issues. I specialize in portraits of Middle Eastern and Muslim women that tell stories of power, vulnerability through faith, resilience, and connection with cultural identity. I also use art to explore the intersections of my interests, for example, being fluent in both Mandarin Chinese and Farsi lead me to make a piece examining the historical artistic and architectural influences between the Persian Empire and China on the Silk Road by overlaying Farsi and Arabic calligraphy with Chinese patterns and traditional painting techniques.
In addition to art I am deeply interested in issues surrounding race and spent the past summer organizing a series of panels and conversations to address anti-Blackness in the Iranian Diaspora.