Los Angeles-based artist Yasaman Farmanara held her first solo exhibition at LA’s Studio 37 last week. Hosted by gallerist Sophia Parisa, the exhibition — titled “Under the Armor” and featuring paintings, drawings and bronze sculptures — opened with a collector preview on Oct. 15 and closed on Oct. 18.
Farmanara’s art represents visions of tangled figures, fragmented bodies and expressive hands.
In an interview with Kayhan Life, Parisa said she was drawn to Farmanara’s work for its emotional honesty.
“I was attracted to Farmanara’s artwork because of the relationship between vulnerability and strength, and the feelings we carry beneath our outward composure,” she said.
Parisa’s own path to the art world was circuitous. Born in New Jersey and raised in Iran, she studied industrial engineering before her passion for art and culture led her to found Studio 37, a contemporary art gallery and cultural center in Los Angeles that hosts exhibitions and conversations.
Kayhan Life asked Farmanara what she hoped visitors would take away from “Under the Armor” and where she saw her artistic career heading over the next few years.
“With ‘Under the Armor,’ I hope to encourage a greater curiosity and kindness toward our own emotional lives—to acknowledge what we feel with acceptance rather than judgment, and allow room for what we may not yet understand,” she said.
“In the coming years, I want to deepen that exploration through my art,” she said, “finding new ways to express myself as my understanding of who I am continues to evolve.”
Born in Iran in 1968, Farmanara spent many years working in the fashion industry before turning to fine art.
Her work has been featured in several group exhibitions in Los Angeles — including Tag Gallery, Covet Art Gallery, Gallerium Art, Biafarin and Art Share Los Angeles.
Earlier on, her work appeared at Aristocratix in 2024, and at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery and Miracle Mile Medical Group in 2023.
