Saya Behnam

The process of creating her colors is a very meaningful aspect of Saya Behnam’s art. The full range of these colors only come through delicate processes in which they are extracted from dried or fresh petals, plants, spices, minerals and stones. Behnam tries to use plants and flowers that are grown locally in her backyard or from DC Metropolitan local gardens. Like any other living thing, flowers produce different colors as a response to different weather, soil and location. Since they are specific to the moment, time and environment they were created, each is unique and can never be replicated. They become singular visual aesthetic records of that unique location and time.

Through abstract, intuitive as well as intentional brush strokes, Behnam creates a space for the unfolding of layers of colors, forms, and shapes to emerge possessing their own identity, their own unique soul. In some pieces, the influences from her Persian background are more apparent, such as her use of poetry or phrases written in Farsi; phrases such as “I live now,” or “I am here.” The use of gold leaf as well as classical Persian patterns and color palette also play an important role in her artistic oeuvre.

Sayeh “Saya” Behnam is an Iranian-American artist born in Tehran, Iran. Fleeing from war, turmoil, and revolution, experiencing dictatorship, and facing cultural and traditional barriers all had a profound influence on her art and life. She believes her art is where she can easily find and establish a true identity that could very much have been lost and undefined. Her art deals with the core concepts of the human being: life, death, freedom, the now, time and more. She is very active in the social and humanitarian art space, working with NGOs in the Middle East and the US, especially with street children. She currently lives in northern Virginia, near the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.