Born in 1968 in Tehran, Iran, Elaheh Heidari started painting in the 80s under the supervision of prominent Iranian instructors and later began studying the subject at Tehran’s Azad University.

From early on Heidari was focused on painting figures. Being inspired by people, she spent hours observing and talking to them around the city and on public transport and in city parks. The psychological connection and understanding developed from these encounters were ultimately the main inspiration behind Heidari’s painting characters and figures.

In her works, Heidari is after creating stories through using aesthetics, form and a carefully selected colour palette. Her minimal canvases portray her interest in psychology and human connection as she mainly uses real models and especially people she personally knows well. In her career, Heidari has experimented with various different techniques and forms, from working with ink on large cardboards in her early series to being engaged with painting portraits for years, and later to work predominantly with oil paint being focused on pure figure.

Heidari lives and works in Tehran. She has held many solo exhibitions in the city since 1997 and has taken part in several international group shows. She has also had residencies in Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, and selected as best artist in the Fourth Isfahan Painting Biennale as well as in Dr. Soundozi’s Drawing Festival at the Imam Ali Museum in Tehran.