Art of Life: Works by Jaleh Azar Etemad

Dive into Jaleh Azar Etemad’s stunning collection of luminous artworks from over forty-five years of artistic exploration. Fourteen chapters of breathtaking images are grouped by series and genre. Personal stories unveil the genesis of her most treasured works.

Born in Iran and living in California since 1970, Jaleh is a multi-media collage artist and layerist who calls herself eclectic and a multi-tasker. She experiments with a variety of materials, paints, and papers to create visual stories: multi-media paintings of varying styles, layered photographs, altered book art, and three-dimensional sculptures with hidden messages.

She shares, “I have an overwhelming energy that comes from the inner-self and pours out on paper and canvas. I gather inspiration from people, books, dreams, or unexpected emotions. I paint in series, with different themes. My motivation is not only getting in touch with my feelings, but also creating thought-provoking pieces for the viewer. It is my hope that the spark of life within the created forms will provoke inquiry into the realms of emotion and intellect.”

Jaleh’s expressive symbolism flickers the imagination. The multiple styles she has mastered throughout her career reveal her attempt to find meaning beyond the surface. This chronicle of her 300 dazzling artworks is a reflection of her evolution as an artist. “As we live our lives we evolve as human beings based on our various experiences. I have done the same through my art.”

Bring Jaleh Azar Etemad’s luminous journey into your own hands with this beautifully crafted hardcover book. Order your copy today and experience the layers of meaning, memory, and imagination that define Jaleh’s work.

A Sneak Peek

About the Author

Jaleh A. Etemad is a multi-media collage artist and layerist who has been creating visual stories filled with layers of meaning for over forty-five years. Born in Azerbaijan, Iran, she pursued higher education in London, earning a B.S. in Medical Laboratory Technology and an M.S. in Electron Microscopy. 

She worked in cancer research for eight years before moving to the U.S. in 1970, where she rediscovered her childhood passion and committed herself to the academic, personal, and professional pursuit of art. After receiving her B.A. with a concentration in Painting from California State University, Northridge in 1986, Jaleh’s work has been widely exhibited across the United States—in California, New Mexico, Hawaii, New York, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, and Wyoming—as well as internationally in Paris, Stockholm, Oslo, Rome, Venice, and Beijing.

Jaleh is a longtime member of the international Alliance of Women Artists (AWA) and of The Society of Layerists in Multi-Media (SLMM), where she served as President from 2013 to 2018. She has received numerous awards and was selected as the Town of Tiburon’s Artist Laureate from 2012 to 2016, where she fostered community engagement with the arts. 

Her culminating project during that tenure was the book I Remember When...: Stories of the Tiburon Peninsula, co-edited with Joan Palmero. Her artwork is also featured in 100 Women Artists, International Women Artists, Vol. 1 and 2, Visual Journeys: Art in the 21st Century, and Unique Insights, which she also co-edited for SLMM. Jaleh currently serves as Vice Chair and is the former Chair of the Heritage & Arts Commission of the Town of Tiburon, California.

Art of Life Book Tour:
Meet and Greet Jaleh A. Etemad