Turaj (né Touradj Ebrahimi, also known as Turaj Ebrahimi) was raised in the Indo-Persian culture in the city of Tehran, before moving to Europe to pursue art. He traveled the world as a competitive chess player and subsequently studied architecture, animation, and fine art in Madrid, Spain and Brussels, Belgium in the 1960s.
He subsequently moved to New York City and expanded his interests to include photography. He settled in San Francisco during the 1980s where he continued his studies and added sculpture and print-making to his creative explorations, including at the Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, CA; as well as the Graphic Art Workshop and a school for artists at Fort Mason in San Francisco, where he was a sculpture student of Elio Benvenuto.
His influences are diverse -- from Alberto Giacometti to Cy Twombly -- but he has been particularly inspired by ancient and early Mediterranean art. Artists he is inspired by include His mediums, themes, and styles have varied widely over the years. Reflecting back, he sees his work becoming more elemental and primal in nature, incorporating simpler and organic forms as well as found objects to present his ideas.
He has participated in many shows and been represented by several galleries over the years. His work has been shown at the SFMOMA Artists Gallery when it was formerly located at the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture (closed to the public since November 2021). We are pleased to now present works from several periods of his long artistic career.
Now in his late 80s, Turaj continues to live and practice in San Francisco.