About Parto Dehlavi

Parto Dehlavi (b. 1958) is a Vancouver-based visual artist whose work explores themes of memory, exile, and emotion through the lens of geometry and color. Born in Iran and forced into exile after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Dehlavi grew up in Paris before relocating to Canada, where she has continued to develop her unique artistic voice.

A graduate of the Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma Français, Dehlavi began her creative journey in filmmaking and editing before transitioning fully to visual art in the early 2000s. Her debut solo exhibition, Du Singulier au Pluriel, opened in Paris in 2009 and was attended by Empress Farah Pahlavi.

Dehlavi’s practice is an intersection of Minimalism, Op Art, and Persian mysticism—fusing delicacy with structure, absence with illumination. Her materials often include superluminova, glass beads, and textured pigments, which come together to create surfaces that shimmer, disappear, and gradually reveal new dimensions over time. This use of light and texture reflects the artist’s ongoing exploration of the passage of time and the complexities of the exile experience.