Pooya Khaki 

Pooya Khaki was born in 1985 in Tabriz, Iran. After receiving his diplomain Graphic Design from Mirak High School of Fine Arts in Tabriz, he pursued his academic studies in Painting at Azad University of Tabriz. He later earned an M.A. in Graphic Arts from Nabi Akram University, also in Tabriz, opening up new horizons in his visual practice.

Throughout his studies and beyond, Khaki explored various visual experiences in search of a language capable of expressing his personal and social concerns. This pursuit led him to ink and pen as his medium of choice. In 2013, he held his first solo exhibition titled Visual Experiments of Pooya Khaki at Sarv Gallery in Tabriz. Five years later, in a live performance titled 24-Hour Drawing, he delved into spontaneous creativity through real-time drawing.

However, the pinnacle of his narrative exploration—first sparked during that live drawing performance—emerged in the form of his 2019 series Early Myths, exhibited at Kabood Atelier Gallery in Tabriz. In this series, Khaki presented ink works such as Falling Down from Hole to Hole, Persephone, and Keeping All of the Heads in Hands, which resemble mythological tales. By revisiting archetypal human narratives and illustrating inner struggles, Khaki invites the viewer to reflect on myth, power, and uncertainty. His visual language offers a way to understand how contemporary individuals seek their identity through the depths of history and myth.

To date, Pooya Khaki has held several solo and group exhibitions across Iran, including in Tabriz and Tehran. Through empathy and the creation of a space that bridges mythology and everyday life, he transforms art into a platform for voicing the hopes and struggles of a portion of the world’s population.