Ali Banisadr was born in Tehran in 1976 and moved to California with his family when he was a child. He lives and works in New York.

Banisadr once remarked that his childhood memories, notably of the Islamic revolution and the brutal Iran-Iraq war, were a mix of images, half abstract and the other half with recognizable forms. Present in all of his works is a sense of sound and movement that is due to the way in which Banisadr condenses his imagery, and chooses a wide range of colours to bring his subject to life.

His figures, inspired by Persian miniature, contrast with the use of large brushstrokes to create an increasingly abstract image. As you draw closer to the painting you see that he is not only capturing the brutalit...