Alemeh Bagherian Iran, b. 1984

Alemeh (Zeinab) Bagherian Jamnani's works are rooted in a background informed by traditional Persian carpet design. Bagherian’s practice incorporates myth, imagery, and cultural memory, utilizing layers of Persian motifs, drawn largely from the Shahnameh (Epic of Kings), onto paintings of sensual female figures, celebrating the enduring beauty and complexity of womanhood within Persian culture.

Written between 977 and 1010 by the poet Ferdowsi (940–1020), the Shahnameh is regarded as a repository of Persian language and identity. Composed entirely of words of Persian origin and filled with chronicles of ancient Persian kings, the text emerged after the seventh-century Islamic conquest of Persia, during a period when Arab rulers attempted to suppress the Persian language in favor of Arabic.

Bagherian’s work draws from these narratives. By weaving Shahnameh imagery into her paintings, she affirms and reclaims her cultural heritage. Her meticulous attention to detail brings a captivating intricacy to each piece, while her figures convey a layered mix of sensuality, introspection, pleasure, and pain.

Alemeh (Zeinab) Bagherian Jamnani, born in Ghaemshahr (Qaem Shahr), a coastal town in northern Iran along the Caspian Sea,  now lives and works in Tehran.