As an Iranian-born American artist, Shiva Ahmadi (b. 1975) creates art that transports the viewer to another “world.” Born in Tehran, Iran in 1975, Ahmadi experienced the turmoil of the Iranian Revolution, and Iran-Iraq War. Informed by her upbringing and immigration to the United States in 1998, her work addresses global issues of immigration, political oppression, and women's rights. Her practice encompasses a variety of media, including watercolor painting, sculpture and digital animation. Ahmadi graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Azad University in 1998. She earned two Master of Fine Art degrees - the first from Wayne State University in 2003, and from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2005. She currently holds her 2015 appointment as a Professor of Art at the University of California, Davis. The Jan and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art held her first solo exhibition on the West Coast, Shiva Ahmadi: Strands of Resilience, in 2024.
