Behrouz Vatankhah (b. 1985, Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian American visual artist based in Washington, DC, whose work transforms personal experiences of anxiety, displacement, and cultural transition into broader reflections on identity, human resilience, and belonging. He creates psychologically charged figures, spaces, and visual narratives that explore the intersections of emotion and memory. Trained in illustration and painting, and later in sculpture, at the University of Art,Tehran, Vatankhah builds on this foundation through a dynamic practice that blends painting and three-dimensional forms. Vatankhah has exhibited his work in group shows across Iran, Turkey, and the United States. Recent highlights include juried group exhibitions Iteration Reiteration at Touchstone Gallery,Washington, DC; Tactile Expressions at Frederick Art Center Gallery; and a feature in FOA Magazine (Volume 21). Earlier exhibitions include Migration (Cafritz Arts Center Maze Gallery, 2017) and Uremtim Bandi (Eskişehir, Turkey, 2015).
My work transforms personal experiences of anxiety, displacement, and cultural transition into visual reflections on identity, resilience, and belonging. Through painting, sculpture, and mixed media, I create psychologically charged figures and spaces that explore how emotion takes form and how people adapt through change. Each composition becomes a response to the tension between what is felt and what can be seen—a negotiation between vulnerability and strength.
Trained in painting, illustration, and sculpture, I approach my process as an open conversation between materials and emotion. I combine layers of pigment, texture, and constructed objects to build visual narratives that trace loss, renewal, and quiet moments of connection. These hybrid surfaces act as both barrier and bridge—revealing the ongoing process of healing and reinvention that shapes my work.
At its core, my practice is an exploration of endurance: how the human spirit reshapes itself through uncertainty. By merging abstraction and tangible form, I seek to transform personal experience into a shared language of resilience—one that invites viewers to reflect on their own sense of place, belonging, and emotional continuity.
Upcoming Exhibition
Our annual group exhibition debuts the work of distinguished 2025–2027 fellows. In this presentation of new.now., each artist’s work conveys a sense of adaptability; some take on an active exercise in troubleshooting.…
