The Artist

Ali Rouhfar was born in Tehran, Iran in 1949. His interest in calligraphy began at the age of thirteen while taking lessons from his grandfather, a master calligrapher. The death of his grandfather six months later proved to be an emotionally heavy period for the artist. As a result, Ali stopped practicing his craft for four years. 

At the age of seventeen, Ali gained confidence and inspiration once more. He entered a calligraphy contest in Tehran and received third place despite not having practiced for several years.  His  exemplary performance in the contest motivated him to resume  practice.

Ali graduated from college majoring in economics, business, and finance.  He began studies toward a PhD but could not continue due to financial challenges. despite this set back, Ali was motivated by learning on his own from books on economics. His muse was learning. It was this muse that lead him to write two papers on the post modern economy.     

Over the years, Ali improved his calligraphy skills and became a member of the Iranian Calligraphers Association, studying under  two masters.  It was at this time the artist's interest in studying post-Islamic Iranian history and calligraphy peaked.

in 1990 Ali and his family migrated to the United States seeking medical treatment for his severely ill daughter. This was a sudden move that had a tremendous physical, emotional, and financial impact on his family.

During the following 5 years of medical treatment and hardship, calligraphy was his little piece of haven.  It was his mental sanctuary where he could see hope and connect with his spiritual being.  Despite the difficulties, he did not give up.  His mantra was, ‘This is the beginning of something new.”

With his first ever exhibition in 1992, the Seattle community received Ali and Persian calligraphy with admiration and respect. As a result, Ali was encouraged to expand his work.

Once again, he found strength in his passion for calligraphy. Displaying his art to the new community in the United States was his calling.

1997 marked a turning point in his artistic life. "I was setting up my work for a show when a man came to me, stared at one of my works and said, you need to view this art from a different perspective" This event led him to re-examine the lives of past calligraphers. He had been a long-time reader of Rumi. However, after meeting this man, he began studying Rumi verses in more depth. His new mission was to incorporate Rumi’s messages in his work. Thus, "mystic calligraphy" was born. 

The early 2000's marked a new chapter as Ali became more active and gained recognition in the community. He was invited to lectures at different colleges and museums, eventually leading to a teaching position at The University of Washington's Near Eastern Language and Civilization department. From this point onward, Ali began teaching private calligraphy classes. The recognition landed Ali's name in the art world and art galleries started carrying his work. 

As he observed so many aspects of Persian calligraphy through the years, he expanded his research on the history and evolution of Persian calligraphy and its connection with economic change after the industrial revolution.  The relationship between calligraphy, society and culture fascinated him. He conducted a series of 50 interviews and studied cases where calligraphy was valuable in daily life. His future goal is to share his views on calligraphy as a way of understanding life.  He hopes that these topics will be the subject of his future pieces.

In 2010, Ali assumed leadership of the Iranian Calligraphers Association of North America in Washington State.  He dedicated more time to teaching calligraphy and experimenting with different methods of teaching for easier and speedier understanding. In 2014 Ali decided to publish the results of these experiments in two volumes of self-learning instructional books called Nuqteh.

What encourages the artist is the continued gained benefits of his teachings for people around the world. The artist still practices daily in his small home studio and continues to teach while living with his family in Seattle.