Baran Shafiey
Winter 2026 Cycle – Art
Providence, RI @baranshafiey
Artist Statement Biography
Baran Shafiey is a painter currently based in Providence, Rhode Island. She recently graduated from the Rhode Island school of design with a BFA in painting.
Baran’s practice focuses on figurative paintings that emerge intuitively .
She collects an archive of drawings that are used as reference materials for further solidified pieces. Observational drawing plays a significant role in her understanding of space and form, which she learns from the human body and its dialogue with the environment it inhabits.
Recently for Baran, her paintings work to merge individuality and collective presence, as she finds herself discovering more of the Self as an example of the permanence of change.
This concept not only speaks on the complex beauty of multi-cultural upbringing, but is also a way of viewing the self as a multiple and a singular simultaneously.
Baran tends to allow these inspirations to breathe and flow through the materials in her studio by emphasizing the importance of intuition, impulse, and formal explorations in order to remain in an ongoing, active stage of learning.
Her work has been displayed in various group shows located in Toronto, Providence, Pawtucket, New York City, Dubai, and Los Angeles. She has also received recognition as a 1st and 2nd Grantee of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation (2024 & 2025), as well as the Florence Leif Award in 2025.
Baran Shafiey is a painter currently based in Providence, Rhode Island. She recently graduated from the Rhode Island school of design with a BFA in painting.
Baran’s practice focuses on figurative paintings that emerge intuitively .
She collects an archive of drawings that are used as reference materials for further solidified pieces. Observational drawing plays a significant role in her understanding of space and form, which she learns from the human body and its dialogue with the environment it inhabits.
Recently for Baran, her paintings work to merge individuality and collective presence, as she finds herself discovering more of the Self as an example of the permanence of change.
This concept not only speaks on the complex beauty of multi-cultural upbringing, but is also a way of viewing the self as a multiple and a singular simultaneously.
Baran tends to allow these inspirations to breathe and flow through the materials in her studio by emphasizing the importance of intuition, impulse, and formal explorations in order to remain in an ongoing, active stage of learning.
Her work has been displayed in various group shows located in Toronto, Providence, Pawtucket, New York City, Dubai, and Los Angeles. She has also received recognition as a 1st and 2nd Grantee of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation (2024 & 2025), as well as the Florence Leif Award in 2025.
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