PORTFOLIO OF SELECTED WORKS
VAHID ABBASZADEH
CONTEMPORARY VISUAL ARTIST
PAINTER
ARTIST STATEMENT
My practice is rooted in figurative painting, with a particular focus on portraiture as a way of exploring human presence, memory, and lived experience. I am drawn to ordinary people and the quiet moments that reveal dignity, resilience, and emotional truth.
Growing up in the cultural landscape of Khorasan has shaped both my visual language and my subject matter. Portraits of rural life, musicians, elders, and everyday individuals reflect my interest in preserving stories that are often overlooked. Rather than seeking an idealised image, I aim to reveal the character and humanity behind each face.
Working primarily in oil, I combine direct observation with expressive painterly marks, allowing colour, light, and gesture to communicate as much as likeness. Whether completed through careful study or the immediacy of alla prima, each painting is an attempt to create an honest encounter between the subject and the viewer.
For me, painting is not simply the representation of a person; it is a way of giving lasting presence to lives, emotions, and experiences that deserve to be seen and remembered.
Based in: Mashhad, Iran
Professional Practice: Since 2006
Teaching: Since 2016
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Specialisation: Figurative & Portrait
BIOGRAPHY
Vahid Abbaszadeh is an Iranian contemporary figurative painter whose professional artistic practice began in 2006. Working primarily in oil on canvas, his paintings explore portraiture and figurative realism, expressing the emotional depth, dignity, and individuality of the human experience.
Since 2016, Abbaszadeh has taught drawing and painting from his private gallery
and studio in Mashhad, where he exhibits his work and mentors students of all
ages while continuing to develop his artistic practice.
His work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions in Iran and
internationally, including the Iranian Artists Exhibition at Asmalımescit Art Gallery, Istanbul, Türkiye (2022), and the Naghsh-e Del Charity Group Exhibition, Tehran, Iran (2022). Internationally, his work was selected for the 2020 Social Distancing Exhibition organised by the Federation of Canadian Artists (Canada) and received a Merit Prize Award in an international online art competition.
Today, Abbaszadeh continues to create new works for exhibitions, private collections, and commissioned projects while expanding his contribution to contemporary figurative painting.