Afarin Sajedi

• Name — Afarin Sajedi • Native Name — آفرين ساجدي • Born — 17 December 1979 • Birthplace — Shiraz, Iran • Education — Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch • Occupation — Painter, illustrator • Style — Figurative art, Surrealist art • Website — https: afarinsajedi.com/

Sajedi was born in 1979 in Shiraz, Iran. She has been drawing since childhood, and her family taught her about the Italian Renaissance at a young age. She graduated from Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch in 2004 with a degree in graphic design, with a background in animation and illustration.

Between 2001 and 2012, Sajedi showcased works in several solo and group exhibits in Iran. In 2012, Sajedi had her first international showing at Palazzo Valentini in Rome in a Dorothy Circus Gallery group exhibit titled "Inside Her Eyes." The following year, Sajedi exhibited again in Rome at the Dorothy Circus Gallery in a four-person exhibit titled "God is Her Deejay." She also exhibited at the Flower Pepper Gallery in Pasadena, California, and the Žitný Ostrov Múzeum in Slovakia. In 2015, Sajedi was invited by Cité internationale des arts in Paris for a three-month residency. She also hosted a solo exhibition, "The Unseen", at Etemed Gallery in Tehran. From April 16 to May 30, 2016, Sajedi exhibited at Dorothy Circus Gallery in Rome once again in a solo exhibit titled "Illusion." Her installation "The Unseen" was featured at the Venice Biennale in 2017, receiving critical acclaim for its commentary on Iranian culture and history. In 2019, Sajedi had another solo exhibition again with Dorothy Circus Gallery in London. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, fans from a number of countries posted photos of themselves dressed as Sajedi's paintings. In a Shargh Daily interview, Sajedi mentioned that several museums had challenged people to recreate artworks in real life, and gradually she found more and more people sharing recreations of her work on Facebook and Instagram. From July 30 to September 18, Sajedi was part of Dorothy Circus Gallery's "House of the Rising Light" group exhibition of 42 artists from Asia. In 2023, Sajedi returned to Dorothy Circus Gallery in Rome to showcase a solo exhibition, "Bon Appétit" from October 13th to November 10th, described by Collateral Magazine as a "feast of flowers, meat, fish, wine and champagne, serving as powerful metaphors for the transience of life."