Born in Azerbaijan in 1955, Issa Shojaei has dedicated his career to his art. He studied at the Tehran Institute of Fine Art from 1977 to 1981 and thereafter spent considerable time travelling in Europe, mostly in Spain and Germany. By 1989, he made his way to Toronto, Canada where he has become an established artist with worldwide recognition. His work has appeared in magazines, films and on television.

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Like many artists, Issa Shojaei’s art has evolved. His earliest compositions were abstracts featuring vivid color and energetic lines, though their mood was often somber. His recent work is more lighthearted, featuring bright colors and whimsical subject matter. Over the years, his use of color has become increasingly symbolic, capturing the personality of his figures. His controlled and confident use of a primary-based palette persists as one of the most noteworthy aspects of his work. From light to dark, colors are carefully blocked, then black is added to intensify feeling.

 

The art of Issa Shojaei evokes the ethos of the eternal feminine. His exquisite portraits of women are enveloped in a luminous aura of calm and composure, through which burning energies pulsate. The women appear to be confident and strong, yet at the same time feminine and soft.

 

In creating his paintings the artist does not begin from sketches or models, but the images spring full blown into his mind. He then attempts to painstakingly transfer his memories And intuitions onto the canvas. He applies his brush to the canvas, feeling and expressing the moment. He carefully blocks his color, working from light to dark, and adding black to intensify feeling and mood. Out of somber textures erupt unexpected patches of brilliant sunlight.

 

Shojaei stresses the importance of his color, color brings us to a feeling of life and memory of the past and also a sense of the future. The esotericism of his life and the sensuality of his style have conspired to make Shojaei an enigmatic painter.