Roshanak Aminelahi is an Iranian artist who primarily works in painting and drawing. Aminelahi initially trained in graphic design at Alzahra University (1995) and Azad University (2000) in Tehran, and then pursued a second graduate degree in illustration from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California. In Iran, she studied under influential artists such as Hannibal Alkhas and Bahram Kalhornia. In 2013, she began working closely with Reza Derakshani in Dubai. Aminelahi has worked as a professor and lecturer at several colleges, in both Tehran and UAE.
Aminelahi’s expressionist paintings range from abstraction to figuration, and often use allegory and symbolism to address urgent themes, such as the subject of war or social conflict. Ancient mythology and poetry, particularly the Shahnameh, have been central to her recent works, which are executed with heavy layers of paint and thick brush marks that create textured, multidimensional imagery. Aminelahi’s tactile surfaces recall the sculptural approach to painting that was pioneered by twentieth-century San Francisco Bay Area painters like Jay DeFeo, while her pointillist works on paper are reminiscent of the mosaic tile work that can be found throughout the Islamic architecture of Iran.
Aminelahi has widely exhibited at art spaces and institutions in Iran, including Azad Art Gallery and the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts. In addition to her career as an artist and academic, she has worked as a graphic designer and art director for over two decades. Recent solo exhibitions for the artist include Etemad Gallery, Tehran (2019 and 2015), Ayyam Gallery Al Quoz, Dubai (2017), Zangar Art Gallery, Tehran (2006 and 2005) and Aban Art Gallery, Tehran (2004). Aminelahi’s work was also highlighted in a collective exhibition at the Salsali Private Museum in 2016.