Fantasma Artwork

"Art is my love, my voice, my dreams, my confidant and best friend, my therapist and healer, my teacher and guardian." Golareh, a contemporary American painter and photographer, calls Lake Arrowhead, California, her home, but her story is marked by a diverse tapestry of experiences and her expressions are explorations of her immigrant identity. Born in Tehran, Iran, just a few years before the seismic 1979 Islamic Revolution, Golareh's early years were a tumultuous mix of cultural shifts. Her journey led her from Iran to Madrid, Spain, and then to Toronto, Canada. Along the way, she pursued degrees in Political Science, Criminology, and Journalism, laying the groundwork for a rich intellectual foundation. Finally, in 2000, she settled in the United States, where she earned a Master's in Mass Communications. Golareh's artistic voyage began in 2003, marked by her inaugural work, "Lady is Blue." This creative awakening served as a channel for her to express the unique experiences of an immigrant. Her art, a fusion of photography, digital painting, glitch art, pixelation, and traditional oil and acrylic on canvas, is an exploration of her immigrant journey and its profound impact on her identity while showcasing opposites and the struggle between negatives and positives. Through her art, she delves deep into the internal struggle she faced as an immigrant, a theme that resounds in her work, often in a non-literal, subliminal manner. Golareh's pieces capture the tug-of-war between positivity and negativity, represented not only with her compositions, but also through her aggressive impasto brush and knife-work which aim to showcase the optimist, pessimist, and realist within herself. It's a reflection of the dichotomy faced by many immigrants - the balancing act between embracing a new culture while preserving one's roots. Color plays an essential role in her storytelling. Golareh's choice of primary tones weaves a vivid narrative, highlighting the coexistence of opposites and the blend of cultures. Her artistic style is a harmonious merger of digital art, pixelation, and manipulation with traditional techniques such as impressionism, expressionism, and surrealism. She crafts many of her works as mixed-media creations, artfully combining digital and analog elements. This approach lends her pieces emotional depth, skillfully conveyed through textured brush and knife work.