About Darya Darvish

I am an oil and acrylic painter based on Saturna Island. Originally from the East Coast, I relocated to the West Coast, where I’ve since put down roots and developed a more focused and dedicated studio practice.

With a background in biology, my work balances observation and intuition. I examine political and social realities through the lens of my experience as an Iranian immigrant in Canada, exploring themes of identity, belonging, and place.

Working across multiple disciplines has informed my practice, but my focus remains in oil and acrylic painting, where I continue to develop an evolving body of work. Using a photorealistic approach, I depict both familiar and imagined subjects within ambiguous environments, creating space for interpretation.

Current Work

Hormuz - A developing collection

Inspired by the geological landscapes of Hormuz Island in Iran, this developing collection uses rock formations, erosion patterns, and surface textures as emotional and symbolic frameworks for exploring human relationships and psychological experience. While Hormuz is often recognized for its rainbow colored earth and sand, I was drawn to its tafoni formations and shifting visual rhythms, porous cavities, layered stripes, fractured surfaces, and sediment like markings that seemed to carry distinct emotional atmospheres.

Standing in one place, a turn of the head revealed entirely different structures and sensations. These encounters became the foundation for a series of paintings that reflect on the complexity of coexistence, intimacy, conflict, vulnerability, longing, and the emotional weight carried within and between people. Through abstraction and expression, the landscapes transform into spaces where personal and collective experiences can converge.

The project also emerges from reflection on a past journey to Iran, revisited now within an increasingly fractured political climate. In contrast to the narrow portrayals of Iran often seen in contemporary media, these works are rooted in experiences of complexity, beauty, and emotional presence within the landscape.

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