“Somaya Etemad does not make pictures or tell stories; she re-lives and re-imagines them in visible languages born in her dreams... Do not look for Etemad’s history in her art, look for the sensation of living she has come to design via her subconscious.”
— Peter Frank, Art Critic
Somaya Etemad is an Iranian-American architect, luxury pool designer and builder, and fine artist whose work has been exhibited nationally and internationally — including at the Japan Contemporary Museum of Art. Trained at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), she blends engineering precision with a deep artistic sensibility.
Her multidisciplinary practice draws on her experience as a woman, mother, and designer, weaving personal narratives into architectural spaces, sculptural forms, and works on paper. Known for creating whimsical, imagined places and capturing the quiet struggles and joys of life, Somaya uses her signature fine lines to tell stories that are both intimate and expansive.
She lives and works in Los Angeles, where she continues to explore the intersection of structure, emotion, and beauty across disciplines.
EXHIBITING HISTORY
2025
Group Exhibition, TAG Gallery, Made in the USA: Comics to Counterculture, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Solo Painting Exhibition, TAG Gallery, SOLO (a life rebuilt alone), Los Angeles, CA, USA
Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, THE 24th JAPAN INTERNATIONAL ART EXCHANGE EXHIBITION, Tokyo, Japan
Group Exhibition, TAG Gallery, Shades of Gray, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Group Exhibition, TAG Gallery, “Abstract Exhibition”, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2024
Group Exhibition, Covet Art Gallery, “Mania”, Oceanside, CA, USA
Group Exhibition, ShockBoxx Gallery, “Not! An Art Fair”, Hermosa Beach, CA, USA
Group Exhibition, TAG Gallery, “2024 Made in the USA”, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Group Exhibition, The Bridge Arts Foundation, “Soliloquy”, San Gabriel, CA, USA
Group Exhibition, ShockBoxx Gallery, “Mixtape”, Hermosa Beach, CA, USA
Group Exhibition, Women's Caucus for Art (ACCESS), “An Ordinary Notion”, San Francisco, CA, USA
Group Exhibition, Boomer Gallery, "The Dark Side”, London, UK
Art Fair Exhibit, Superfine, New York, NY, USA