Art of Life

Dive into Jaleh Azar Etemad’s stunning collection of luminous artworks from over forty-five years of artistic exploration. Fourteen chapters of breathtaking images are grouped by series and genre. Personal stories unveil the genesis of her most treasured works.

Born in Iran and living in California since 1970, Jaleh is a multi-media collage artist and layerist who calls herself eclectic and a multi-tasker. She experiments with a variety of materials, paints, and papers to create visual stories: multi-media paintings of varying styles, layered photographs, altered book art, and three-dimensional sculptures with hidden messages. She shares, “I have an overwhelming energy that comes from the inner-self and pours out on paper and canvas. I gather inspiration from people, books, dreams, or unexpected emotions. I paint in series, with different themes. My motivation is not only getting in touch with my feelings, but also creating thought-provoking pieces for the viewer. It is my hope that the spark of life within the created forms will provoke inquiry into the realms of emotion and intellect.”

Jaleh’s expressive symbolism flickers the imagination. The multiple styles she has mastered throughout her career reveal her attempt to find meaning beyond the surface. This chronicle of her 300 dazzling artworks is a reflection of her evolution as an artist. “As we live our lives we evolve as human beings based on our various experiences. I have done the same through my art.”

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Author Biography

Jaleh A. Etemad is a multi-media collage artist and layerist creating visual stories filled with layers of meaning for over forty-five years. Born in Azerbaijan, Iran, Jaleh pursued higher education in London, England, obtaining a B.S. in Medical Laboratory Technology and an M.S. in Electron Microscopy. She worked for eight years in Cancer Research until moving to the U.S. in 1970, where she rediscovered her childhood passion and became committed to the academic, personal, and professional pursuit of art. Since receiving her B.A. with a concentration in Painting from California State University, Northridge in 1986, her work has been widely exhibited in California, New Mexico, Hawaii, New York, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, and Wyoming, and internationally in Paris, Stockholm, Oslo, Rome, Venice, and Beijing. Jaleh is a longtime member of the international Alliance of Women Artists (AWA) and of The Society of Layerists in Multi-Media (SLMM), for which she served as President from 2013 to 2018. Jaleh has won numerous awards and was selected as the Town of Tiburon’s Artist Laureate from 2012 to 2016, bringing art understanding and appreciation to the community where she resides. As the culminating project, she created the book “I Remember When…: Stories of the Tiburon Peninsula,” co-edited by Joan Palmero. Jaleh’s artwork is also included in: “100 Women Artists”; “International Women Artists, Vol. 1 and 2”; “Visual Journeys: Art in the 21st Century”; and “Unique Insights,” co-editor (SLMM). She is the current Vice Chair and former Chair of the Heritage & Arts Commission of the Town of Tiburon, California. www.jalehetemad.com Nakissa C. Etemad is an Iranian American Dramaturg, Producer, Director, and French Translator, specializing in new BIPOC plays and musicals for over 30 years. Her dramaturgical materials – newsletters, interviews, articles, and playbills – have been published in print and digitally for theatre companies across the nation, including Arena Stage, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Perseverance Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, La Jolla Playhouse, The Wilma Theater, Marin Theatre Company, Golden Thread Productions, San Jose Repertory Theatre, San Diego Repertory Theatre, and Shotgun Players. Nakissa collaborates with playwrights to edit their plays from early development through production. She has worked with notable playwrights such as Tom Stoppard, Arthur Miller, Luis Valdez, Lynn Nottage, Marcus Gardley, Culture Clash, Dael Orlandersmith, Lauren Gunderson, Doug Wright, Yussef El Guindi, Heather Raffo, Betty Shamieh, Marisela Treviño Orta, Polly Pen, Lauren Yee, Katori Hall, Lillian Groag, Chay Yew, Charles L. Mee, Octavio Solis, Julie Hébert, Naomi Wallace, David Adjmi, Naomi Iizuka, and Elaine Romero. Nakissa is Treasurer for Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas, a Resident Artist of Golden Thread Productions, a member of the MENA Theater Makers Alliance, and served as Associate Artistic Director of Marin Theatre Company. Nakissa is the recipient of the 2015 Elliott Hayes Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dramaturgy for her work as dramaturg on Marcus Gardley’s four nationwide premieres of “the road weeps, the well runs dry.” She holds an M.F.A. in Dramaturgy from University of California, San Diego.