ZAHRA (PEGAH)
Location:
Tehran, Tehran Province, Iran
ARTIST BIO
Zahra (Pegah) is a Tehran-based artist and former national volleyball player for the Iranian women’s team. Currently working as a bodybuilding coach and personal trainer, she brings the same discipline, energy, and focus from her sports and fitness career into her artistic practice. Zahra(Pegah) is deeply passionate about calligraphy, painting, design, and photography, with a particular devotion to Persian calligraphy. She finds profound peace and a sense of freedom in the rhythmic dance of Iranian script.
Her work celebrates the beauty and flow of traditional Persian lines, expressing themes of resilience and cultural identity.
Driven by her strong interest in calligraphy, Zahra(Pegah) is determined to pursue it as her primary profession and continues to develop her artistic practice in Tehran, creating pieces that inspire inner calm and connection to heritage.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I live and create in Tehran, focusing mainly on Persian calligraphy, with occasional photography. After years on Iran’s women’s national volleyball team and now as a bodybuilding coach and personal trainer, I turned to calligraphy to channel my inner emotions, restless spirit, and need for calm. The rhythmic dance of Iranian script gives me a profound peace and freedom I never found in sports or training.
Working with ink and acrylic as my primary colors, I use tools like Chinese brushes, kolinsky brushes, palette knives, and various brushes to let the lines flow freely and unpredictably. Each stroke is meditative—connecting me to my cultural roots and bringing inner tranquility amid daily chaos. My works explore resilience and cultural identity through the elegant curves and movements of the script, turning personal reflection into visual poetry.
I am deeply inspired by Pierre Soulages’s textured blacks that reveal light and depth, and Rembrandt’s expressive lines full of emotion and drama. I hope to one day make their approaches a guiding force in my own practice.
Driven by this passion, I am determined to make calligraphy my primary profession, continuing to experiment in Tehran and inviting viewers to feel the same serenity and heritage connection this art offers me.
