Nasrin Shafiei: Floating in the folds
Art lovers and collectors can look forward to Iranian born artist Nasrin Shafiei鈥檚 latest exhibition, Floating in the folds, which opens at the Association of Arts Pretoria on Saturday, 26 April 2025 at 11:00. Joyce Carreira will open the exhibition.
Nasrin Shafiei was trained and mentored by various Iranian and South African artists. She has a distinguished signature style inspired by classic and neo-classic artists and artworks that are themed around human features and beauty.
Shafiei states: 鈥淢y work is an exploration of the feminine spirit - its delicacy, beauty, and emotions through portraiture and figurative painting. I am drawn to the quiet, intimate moments which reveal the depth of a woman鈥檚 inner world; the unspoken emotions that linger in a gaze, a gesture, or the way light falls across the skin. Each work is a meditation on identity, presence, and the way we navigate the seen and unseen aspects of ourselves.鈥�
The artist works with layers of colour, of texture and of meaning - building surfaces that reflect the complexity of the women she paints. Veils, masks, and fragmented forms weave through her work, symbolizing the many ways in which femininity is shaped and expressed. She says what we reveal, what we conceal and the shifting space in between fascinate her.
A veil can be an adornment, a shield, a threshold between worlds. A mask can hide, but it can also empower. These elements allow her figures to exist in spaces that are both deeply personal and universally understood. She is particularly interested in the idea of delicacy - not as fragility, but as a quiet, enduring strength. It is often dismissed, mistaken for something fleeting or weak, yet she regards it as an essential force. She strives to show that delicacy doesn鈥檛 equal fragility, but sensitivity, care and quiet strength.
Art lovers and collectors can look forward to Iranian born artist Nasrin Shafiei鈥檚 latest exhibition, Floating in the folds, which opens at the Association of Arts Pretoria on Saturday, 26 April 2025 at 11:00. Joyce Carreira will open the exhibition.
Nasrin Shafiei was trained and mentored by various Iranian and South African artists. She has a distinguished signature style inspired by classic and neo-classic artists and artworks that are themed around human features and beauty.
Shafiei states: 鈥淢y work is an exploration of the feminine spirit - its delicacy, beauty, and emotions through portraiture and figurative painting. I am drawn to the quiet, intimate moments which reveal the depth of a woman鈥檚 inner world; the unspoken emotions that linger in a gaze, a gesture, or the way light falls across the skin. Each work is a meditation on identity, presence, and the way we navigate the seen and unseen aspects of ourselves.鈥�
The artist works with layers of colour, of texture and of meaning - building surfaces that reflect the complexity of the women she paints. Veils, masks, and fragmented forms weave through her work, symbolizing the many ways in which femininity is shaped and expressed. She says what we reveal, what we conceal and the shifting space in between fascinate her.
A veil can be an adornment, a shield, a threshold between worlds. A mask can hide, but it can also empower. These elements allow her figures to exist in spaces that are both deeply personal and universally understood. She is particularly interested in the idea of delicacy - not as fragility, but as a quiet, enduring strength. It is often dismissed, mistaken for something fleeting or weak, yet she regards it as an essential force. She strives to show that delicacy doesn鈥檛 equal fragility, but sensitivity, care and quiet strength.
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