Interview
Noushin Pourmirza
Noushin is an Iranian painter and graphic designer based in San Francisco. She has a BFA in Painting from the Art University of Tehran, and an MA in Graphic Design and Digital Media from the Academy of Art University, San Francesco.
Her works focus on a sense of beauty and the spiritual connection she feels between human and nature. In her works, she typically uses acrylic on canvas and wood.
Being a risk taker and an ambitious person, Noushin is always looking to learn more. Putting herself in challenging situations makes her feel alive and satisfied. This then allows her perfectionist mind and free soul to reawaken and challenge her once more.
These character traits have revealed her path as an artist, and led Noushin beyond what she sees. She can transform everything around her, from the invisible, to vibrant colors and patterns.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I was born in Tehran and as a Persian, I grew up surrounded with such a deep culture, full of colors, poems and history.
Ever since I can remember, I’ve always been interested in painting and drawing. Because my father taught physics, I became interested in physics and math in high school. But as much as I loved physics, I knew I didn’t want to be an engineer. I just wanted to be an artist.
My artist uncle and his wife led me more into the creative world. With great support from my parents, I enrolled to study painting at the Art University of Tehran, one of the best universities in the country.
After college, I started work as a graphic designer while still painting, aiming to get enough pieces to have my first solo exhibition. After five years of working as an artist in Iran, I moved to San Francisco for my Master’s degree. This opened my eyes to a different world and after my studies, I stayed on to work as a painter and graphic designer.”
“This world is such a huge, mysterious place. We humans take our little machine life so seriously that we completely forget about the true meaning of living.”
What inspires you?
“I am inspired by the wonder of nature, especially trees — their roots and leaves. I also love aerial photography. Photographs of the earth are beautiful paintings in themselves, and inspire me to combine these elements together.
From my point of view, nature is an endless source of learning. It's full of mysteries, color, textures and lights. I can delve deeply into this, staring at trees, listening to all the sounds around me, and get so much energy and motivation.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“My message is to involve people in the beauty of nature; to let them see the world from a different perspective — like looking through the lens of an aerial camera. This is where we realize how small we are compared to the world and the galaxy.”
How would you describe your work?
“My abstract paintings are a connection between the human soul and nature. They create a bridge that opens up people's eyes to the other side of this world. The many layers, colors and patterns in nature play a featured role in my paintings.”
Which artists influence you most?
“Jackson Pollock is definitely an artist who influences me to be fearless with the canvas. He has inspired me to express my feelings truly with free movements.
Reza Abedini is an Iranian graphic designer who taught me to explore geometric patterns in his Islamic-inspired work.
Anselm Kiefer, another painter, works with materials such as straw, ash, clay, lead, and shellac. He inspires me to look beyond the canvas as simply a flat surface, and so I add different materials to my paintings to build natural depth.”
What is your creative process like?
“In a word, spontaneous. I don’t plan what my work will look like; I just choose the color palette in my mind, place the canvas horizontally on the floor, choose music based on my mood, and let the feeling guide me. I usually make the acrylic watery so I can combine colors together easily. I enjoy seeing how colors and water dance with each other on the canvas.
I use my hands instead of brushes; it connects me naturally and directly to the paint.
When I’m done with that background layer, I leave it until the next day or so to dry. Then I add patterns, and some details.
Sometime after days or months, I might even decide to add something to my painting, or even paint all over a previous painting and create a new one.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“An artist can lead, follow, uplift, or provoke with their work. Artists provide their communities with joy, interaction, and inspiration, but they also give thoughtful critique to the political, economic, and social systems.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“In 2018, I was invited to a live paint tournament, the Art Battle at Great Northern in San Francisco. This was one of my most interesting experiments. We were 12 artists in total who competed in three rounds of live painting, while a DJ played some music. Each round was 20 minutes, and while we artists painted in the center, the audience circled around us. The winners were decided by an audience vote. All of the other paintings were available at auction at the end of the event.
It was such a unique experience for me because I’d never painted within such a short time limit, and with so many eyes on me. I felt so alive and energetic, and although I didn’t win, I sold a painting. You can see all the photos of that event here.
Other notable exhibitions have been as follows:
- 2019: group art exhibition (more than 100 artists: painters, photographers, dancers, sculptors and mixed media) RAW Artists in San Francisco, California.
- 2018: live painting tournament, ART Battle in San Francisco. California.
- 2016: group painting exhibition, ART Millennium in San Francisco, California.
- 2013: group painting exhibition at Caroun Gallery in Vancouver, Canada.
- 2012: My first individual painting exhibition at Darya Beigi Gallery in Tehran.”
