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 no trata su trabajo como un trabajo. Más bien, se esfuerza por trabajar solo cuando se siente verdaderamente inspirada; ya sea jubilosamente feliz o completamente devastado. Al trabajar solo en estos momentos, puede mantener su trabajo crudo y genuino, capturando las emociones que intenta transmitir a medida que las siente en lugar de buscarlas cuando las quiere.