Sahar Khalkhalian is an Iranian-born artist currently residing in Canada whose work explores powerful and traumatic themes including separation, isolation, as well as loss of humanity and identity. As a child, Khalkhalian experienced the 8 year Iran-Iraq War where she saw firsthand just how easily an individual’s humanity and identity could be shattered or ripped away to become only a fleeting memory for those who manage to survive. Following this, she and her sister emigrated to Germany at the age of 13, where she again had to experience the loss of identity and feelings of isolation that are common to immigrants in an alien culture. As a result Khalkhalian’s paintings center directly on expressing these feelings to the viewer which are so hard to express with words alone.

Khalkhalian ne considère pas son travail comme un travail. Au contraire, elle s'efforce de travailler uniquement lorsqu'elle se sent vraiment inspirée ; qu'il soit heureux ou complètement dévasté. En ne travaillant qu'à ces moments-là, elle est capable de garder son travail brut et authentique, capturant les émotions qu'elle essaie de transmettre au fur et à mesure qu'elle les ressent au lieu de les rechercher quand elle les veut.