Ahmad Rafi Iranian, b. 1961

Ahmad Rafi (b. 1961, Tehran) was introduced to art from an early age. Following two and a half formative and traumatic years of compulsory military service on the front lines of the Iran–Iraq War, he left Iran in 1986 and relocated to Germany via Barcelona. At the age of twenty-five, as the artist himself describes it, he was “thrown into Germany.” After eleven years in Aschaffenburg, Rafi entered what he refers to as his “Frankfurt Phase.”

Working primarily within the language of representational painting, Rafi approaches realism not as mere depiction, but as a site of critical inquiry and self-reflection. His work often engages perception through subtle disruptions of visibility, materiality, and distance. Across multiple bodies of work, Rafi has explored themes of architecture, the human figure, memory, and the tension between presence and concealment.

While painting remains central to his practice, Rafi has continually expanded its possibilities. Moving beyond the conventional canvas, he has incorporated antique art history books as painting surfaces and, in later years, developed installation-based works integrating film and music. This expanded vocabulary reflects an ongoing commitment to reconsidering the boundaries of painting while maintaining its material and conceptual core.

Alongside his artistic practice, Rafi has also been engaged in curatorial work, creating platforms for both national and international artists to engage with urgent social and cultural questions.