Behind the masks
Iranian-American painter tries to convey people's true essence
EDMOND — Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Behnaz Sohrabian frequently had her mind on masks. At least the figurative kind. “People — human beings — are complicated. They have different masks,” she said in an interview earlier this year at her Edmond home. “Even I have a mask on my face. When I'm here with my daughter maybe my attitude, my behavior, is different than when I'm talking with you. ... I understand that these masks are good somehow, but really, I want to uncover these masks when I want to paint portraits of people. I want to discover what's going on behind these eyes, behind these masks. I want to get at their essence for the portrait, not just a likeness or the surface of the face.”
Although the Iranian-American artist is especially acclaimed for her colorful, expressive portraits, she is exhibiting a wide selection of her paintings, including abstracts, still life pieces and landscapes, this month at Edmond Fine Arts Institute.
“Different subject matter is great. I see potential in different subject matter. ...
I can express my feelings through different subject matters with free brushstrokes,” she said. “I think Oklahoma people and also the landscapes here are a great inspiration to me in making art.”
Oklahoma inspiration
This summer, Sohrabian, 55, marked the 10th anniversary of her move to America.
“I came here five or six times before I made the decision to move here. ... We had a revolution (in 1979), war, and the American embassy in Iran was closed and occupied. So, I couldn't get a visa to come here,” she said. “My parents and my older brother decided to just stay in Iran, and I graduated from high school. ... After the revolution, it so hard, so (I thought) maybe after a few years, it would be easier to move here as an immigrant. But I got married, so my life changed.”
Born and raised in Tehran, Sohrabian grew up steeped in the rich artistic traditions of her home country. Although her mother enrolled her in art lessons at a young age, she initially went to nursing school and then earned her Bachelor of Science degree in applied chemistry after graduating high school. But she went on to pursue a bachelor's in painting and a master's in art studies.
In 2010, she was working as a teacher and artist, but she also was newly divorced, a single mother to two daughters and concerned by Iran's controversial 2009 presidential election.
“I was ready to move, but I had a good life also in Iran,” she said. “I thought, `It's not a good situation, just suppressing people.' ... Especially, they don't respect women's rights.”
When she moved to Oklahoma to join her older sister and start her new life, she was enthralled by how different the landscapes were, something that has continued to inform her work.
“It's flat and kind of quiet, peaceful. It's wonderful. I love it,” Sohrabian said. “In Tehran, it's the capital. You have high rises ... and then there's the mountain range. So, it's completely different here. The texture is different completely.”
Artistic communication
In adapting to her new homeland, Sohrabian, who became a U.S. citizen in 2017, used her art as a key form of communication. “I want to say something through these compositions. ... It's really hard to convey or translate my ideas to visual elements ... like line, form, shapes, colors. It's challenging, but I really enjoy it,” she said. “I didn't push myself for trying different styles or techniques.
It happens, I think, gradually. It takes time to be mature as an artist. It takes time.”
Over time, she has developed an affinity for painting portraits, especially depicting — and empowering — women. Along with raising two daughters, Sohrabian's mother lived with her in Edmond for the last five years until she died in March at age 81. “Most of the time you see I have women portraits,” she said. “To, me, women are so strong, and they are so sensitive. ... But I also appreciate and like men.”
Along with her current Edmond Fine Arts Institute show, she has been creating new works for upcoming exhibitions at the Paseo gallery JRB Art at the Elms and the Oklahoma Hall of Fame at Gaylord-Pickens Museum. The latter will focus on portraits of people who have influenced her life.
Getting behind the mask of the people she paints remains vital whether the subject is a man, a woman or even herself.
“I want to know myself better when I look at my face, how I can convey the essence of myself or face on the canvas, how I can convey my feelings about myself on canvas,” she said. “And I'm still learning.”