Sobre el Artista

I am very much a painter of my time. Intuitively I combine in my work both a sense of the old tradition of the Middle East, in which I grew up, and the modernism of the world that I have had to adopt. I was born in the south west of Persia (now Iran) in 1969 into two cultures. My mother was a Persian intellectual with links to the Royal family, and my father was a ship`s Captain from a wealthy Bahraini family. My father died when I was very young and I was constantly exposed to the strengths and vulnerabilities of womanhood. I studied hard to get somewhere in my life and gained a Master`s Degree in Fine Art as well as becoming an active campaigner for women`s rights. Both my art and my political views were unacceptable to the Regime and I was arrested several times. After a period of imprisonment I was forced to leave my ancestral home forever. The works that I produce depict elements of my experiences of life and thus I am a modern expressionist. As an artist, I am naturally influenced by those I consider to be great painters. Klimnt, Dali, Picasso and particularly Frida are my mentors.... not just the style of work but the way they lived and the influence they had on the art movement. I live and work in Stratford upon Avon, heartland of Shakespeare and the epitome of English rural life but I am still preoccupied with the colours, symbols and nature of my Persian heritage. www.sourenmousavi.co.uk