Biography

Leila Rofan is a multinational, multidisciplinary artist born in Tehran (1976) and based in Fresno, California. Her most recent works are known for the vibrant and large-scale drawings with Cyanotype, watercolor, and acrylic transfers. They are characterized by eye-catching details of intricate Persian carpet motifs and patterns. The signature "talking tree" in her works stems from the folklores, motifs, and paintings of this tree in Persia, a symbol of birth and knowledge. It symbolizes her roots in Persian culture and conveys growth and rebirth.

Her hybrid compositions originate from her studies and personal experiences in eastern and western art and culture, coalescing her analysis of Persian miniature painting with the Western impressionist and expressionist art movement. They collate the Persian mindset and ideology, material objects, and their presentations in Persian court paintings with her studies in Psychoanalysis of the 19th and 20th-century art in the west, which enables her to convey beyond the abstract idea and realistic figures of her subject matters. 

To her, Persian paintings and carpets are valuable sources for studying material objects, which help recognize the inherited and nonmaterial Persian culture. Persian miniature painting combined with expressionism, she creates pieces in which carpet narratives and motifs intertwine with their weavers to convey their life stories and illustrate their state of mind. Concurrently the figures live in the space created by their carpet designs and patterns. 

She uses fragile supports such as mulberry paper and kaolin clay in her recent work about Persian women's carpet weavers. These supports may break or tear during the quick and spontaneous processes of wet Cyanotype, rinse, and paint. However, she is ambitious to identify with these women's vulnerable and uncertain situations. She uses frangible and brittle acrylic transfers of carpet designs to emphasize Iran's endangered carpet weaving heritage. The thinly applied watercolor coats in oranges, yellows, and ochres portray vulnerable and fragile yet vibrant and hopeful figures against the deep ambiguous space surrounding them. These figures create a push and pull effect that invites the viewer to the inner world of these women and their narratives. 

Leila's journey into art began at a young age. She started her lessons by attending her father's -Houshang Rofan- art classes. She continued her studies and practiced traditional art in Iran. After completing her BS in Computer at the Azad University of Tehran, She attended the California State University of Fresno to continue her MA in visual arts studies. Her upcoming  Graduation exhibition in 2022 will be at Phebe Conley Art Gallery at Fresno State University.