Leila Tanhaei (b. 1999, Rasht, Iran) is a painter and multidisciplinary artist with a background in architecture.
She initially studied mathematics and physics before obtaining her first degree in Architecture in her hometown. She is currently pursuing a second degree in Painting at RUFA.
Working across different media, including painting, multimedia and installation art, her artistic research explores the struggles of humanity and cultural identity. Through the use of heterogeneous materials, Leila evokes intense emotional responses, addressing themes related to resilience, emotional values and collective struggle.
Through her art, she sensitively examines the complexities of human existence and cultural heritage.
I’ve learned that to live is to resist, and to survive is to fight battles you didn’t choose. Every moment holds both pain and resilience, collapse and creation. In the details of Persian carpets, faded tiles, and the everyday lives of people, there is a quiet persistence—a story of balancing between breaking and continuing, of the beauty that survives and the wounds that shape it. The destiny of Iranians is woven into their carpets and tiles. Growing up surrounded by their beauty while witnessing their decay reflects the fate of both Iranians and their legacy.
May this be a tribute to that magnificent self-breaking.
