Negar
Pooya
Multidisciplinary Visual Artist
Negar Pooya is a multidisciplinary visual artist, born in Iran and now living and working in Canada. Her works engage a range of media, painting, printmaking, photography, collage, and digital art. Her art predominantly explores themes of humanity, female identity, the environment, and nature.
Negar’s artistic journey began with a solid foundation in formal training: “I hold a BA in Painting with honors, and a Master of Fine Arts degree with honors, but what truly shaped my vision came after. My childhood and teenage years were marked by revolution, which turned the entire country upside down, followed by seven years of war. Instead of growing up with sweet childhood dreams, my generation was raised reading stories of poverty and injustice. Politics was not just an external reality; it was part of our daily lives as children.”
The work Negar creates is often a dialogue between two worlds: the Persian land she left behind and the one she is rooting herself in, like a plant reaching for sunlight in new soil. When she moved to Canada 25 years ago, Negar carried with her a rich Persian visual language shaped by the culture, art, and philosophy of her homeland. But it took time for these roots to grow strong in a new landscape.
“I have a political perspective, but when I work, my studio becomes a sacred space, a ritual where I seek purity rather than direct political expression. As an introvert, I long for peace. I want to reach the essence of my subject, to digest it, transform it, and translate it into my own language with expressive lines, colors, and textures. My work merges my Persian heritage with my experiences here, revealing fragments of my inner world.”
Negar’s art has been exhibited in solo and group shows across Iran, Canada, Japan, Romania, and the USA. Her pieces are part of collections in prestigious institutions, including the Contemporary Museum of Art in Iran, the Women's Edge Coalition in Washington, the University of Maryland, the Mobile Museum of Art, the Florean Museum in Romania, and the International Museum of Women in California.
EDUCATION
Master of Fine art
with honours and received a full scholarship
Bachelor of Art in Painting
with honours and received a full scholarship to complete (MFA)
Diploma in Graphic Design
with honours
AFFILIATIONS
Board of Directors, Gallery 44, Toronto (2024 - ongoing)
Board of Directors, Historic Wallace House, Woodbridge (2023 - ongoing)
AWARDS
2003 Honouree for Contributions to the Visual Arts, Women's Edge Coalition, Washington DC
RELATED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Creative Director at Marlik group Toronto
Digital Photography Humber College
EXHIBITIONS
2024 Photography, G44 Centre for Contemporary Photography, looking for freedom.
2023 Photography, G44 Centre for Contemporary Photography, Blue
2023 Capic XPOSE 2023,Photography, Todmorden Papermill Gallery, Toronto
2023 Printmaking Group show Aird Gallery, Toronto
2023 Painting group show for “woman life freedom” Sahar.K.Boluki Artgallery
2022 Photography, Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography, Transit
2022 Open Studio, Printmaking, future Proof, Toronto
2022 Propeller Art Gallery, all the and all of a sudden, Toronto
2022 CONTACT Photography Festival, Humber Galleries, How to Remember for the Future
2022 Irajzand Foundation, Iran, Tehran 2021 Irajzand Foundation, Iran, Tehran
2019 Painting and Printmaking Haft Samar Gallery Iran, Tehran
2015 Printmaking, Open studi, Toronto
2014 Printmaking, 100 Prints Open Studio, Toronto
2012 Painting and Printmaking Haft Samar Gallery Iran, Tehran
2011 Group Painting Exhibition Gallery 1313, Toronto
2010 Painting & Printmaking, Queen Gallery, Toronto
2010 Group Exhibition Arta Gallery Toronto
2005 International Museum of Woman San Francisco USA
2005 Woman of the World Exhibition Contemporary Art Centre NewOrleans
2005 Woman Museum Dallas
2004 Locus Media Gallery March 31 New York NY
2004 A Dialogue Through Art Exhibit 9 Maryland USA
2004 Just War Bradford Gallery USA
2003 About Love Lonsdale gallery Toronto Canada
2003 Historic Sewall Belmont House Washington DC
2000 University Of California Berkeley
1999 Printmaking Exhibition Felorean Museum August Romania
1999 Chalcography Exhibition Arya Art Gallery Iran
1997 International Print Exhibition in Kanagava Japan
1995 Chalcography Exhibition Seyhoon Gallery Iran
1994 Painting exhibition, Tehran International Permanent Fair Ground Iran
1993 Chalcography Exhibition Seyhoon Gallery Tehran Iran
1993 Painting exhibition Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
1993 Painting Exhibition Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
1992 Painting Exhibition Afrand Art Gallery Iran Tehran