Farideh Malekolkalami, “a self-instructed artist” was born in Iran in 1929.

For Farideh, art has always been a top priority in her life.

Her paternal grandfather was Ahmad Shah special tutor and was bestowed the title of “Malek-ol-Kalam” , a literary honor, by Mohamad Ali Shah Qajar.

Due to her father’s frequent travels & missions, Farideh was home schooled by her mother who was a teacher until the sixth grade. After that, her family moved to Tehran where she continued her education at Anoushirvan Dadgar school for girls.

she graduated high school at the age of 16 but soon after, she lost her father. It was around this time that she was admitted to the University of Tehran to study midwifery. She graduated at the age of 20 and was assigned to the area of Masjed-e-Soliman, in Iran’s Khuzestan Province, for duties. It was there that she met her husband Dr. Pakdel.  They had two children, “Pirooz and Shiva, both of whom currently reside in the United States.”

Farideh who is proficient in English, having leaned it as a child, is also familiar with Spanish. She has had three books translated from English to Farsi. She is also a poet and has published a book of her very own poetry. She also has a strong streak of creativity in other areas. She paints on rocks and a number of these painted rocks are exhibited at the National Library of Tehran. I first met her during the period when she was making beautiful cushions from old and recycled clothes.

Farideh says “as far back as I can remember, I’ve been dedicated to collecting any-old odd object such as buttons, fabrics, curtains, and old clothing which can be easily found around any home and I would re-purpose them, giving them a new use.

The exhibition at hand today, is one of a select few of the rocks that she’s been collecting and painting for a number of years. Using glue, she assembles and creates diverse shapes by joining the rocks and in some cases, later framing them. Additionally, she has created sculptures by stacking and cementing them together.

At the age of 93, she is no longer able to work because of poor eyesight and illness, but a lifetime of artistic & creative work she has assembled and preserved will forever serve as a beacon of light for the rest of us.

I wish her health and longevity.

Parvaneh Silani

April 10, 2022