Banafsheh Erfanian
Banafsheh Erfanian is a Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist. She wears different hats
as an illustrator, painter, arts educator, and mentor. She has illustrated many books and
magazines for children and young adults and her work has been short-listed in several
illustration competitions and exhibited in numerous juried exhibitions such as in Iran,
Italy, US, Canada, Russia, China, Japan, and Serbia. She has had one illustration and
two painting solo exhibits in Toronto. She has won awards such as the RBC Arts
Access Awards, Canada, 2020, 2019, and 2017, The Award of Excellence of Golden
Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition, China, 2016 and the Encouragement Prize of
the 15th Noma Concours for Picture Book Illustration, Japan, 2004. Banafsheh has
participated in jury panels such as the Toronto Art Council Newcomer & Refugees grant,
Scholastic arts & writing awards, New York, 2022, "Newstar Cup" Canada’s
International Children and Youth Creative Arts Exhibition, 2018 & 2019 and Tirgan
Painting Contest for Children, 2019.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I tell my stories through art using imagination as a tool of expression. I am inspired by narratives that convey mythical, poetical, and philosophical themes. In my multidisciplinary practice, I employ magical realism and surrealism to create a milieu that is tied to and stems from my cultural background as an Iranian-Canadian artist meaning I am into but not constrained to interpreting my Iranian heritage using satire and surrealism. As an illustrator especially for children, my approach is different. I create a positive, hopeful, and peaceful atmosphere for children in which they can indulge in playfulness and creativity.
Banafsheh Erfanian is a Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist. She wears different hats
as an illustrator, painter, arts educator, and mentor. She has illustrated many books and
magazines for children and young adults and her work has been short-listed in several
illustration competitions and exhibited in numerous juried exhibitions such as in Iran,
Italy, US, Canada, Russia, China, Japan, and Serbia. She has had one illustration and
two painting solo exhibits in Toronto. She has won awards such as the RBC Arts
Access Awards, Canada, 2020, 2019, and 2017, The Award of Excellence of Golden
Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition, China, 2016 and the Encouragement Prize of
the 15th Noma Concours for Picture Book Illustration, Japan, 2004. Banafsheh has
participated in jury panels such as the Toronto Art Council Newcomer & Refugees grant,
Scholastic arts & writing awards, New York, 2022, "Newstar Cup" Canada’s
International Children and Youth Creative Arts Exhibition, 2018 & 2019 and Tirgan
Painting Contest for Children, 2019.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I tell my stories through art using imagination as a tool of expression. I am inspired by narratives that convey mythical, poetical, and philosophical themes. In my multidisciplinary practice, I employ magical realism and surrealism to create a milieu that is tied to and stems from my cultural background as an Iranian-Canadian artist meaning I am into but not constrained to interpreting my Iranian heritage using satire and surrealism. As an illustrator especially for children, my approach is different. I create a positive, hopeful, and peaceful atmosphere for children in which they can indulge in playfulness and creativity.
$600.00
Acrylics and oil pastels on illustration board (matted and framed).
20.50x20.50"
The original artwork size is 15.5 x 15.5 inches.
Two lonely souls find each other in this unusual tale of friendship and belonging from award-winning comic writer Cary Fagan. In her North American debut, illustrator Banafsheh Erfanian brings ornate artistry to the cage and birds that inhabit this surprisingly human story. A long-empty birdcage takes a chance and leaves behind its attic home to find a bird to keep. Out in the world, the cage encounters many birds and offers shelter to each of them. One by one, they refuse, explaining why they belong elsewhere. The cage feels lonelier than ever – until the cage in search of a bird finds a bird in search of a cage. Based on an aphorism by Franz Kafka, Fagan’s original story will make readers laugh at its absurdity and ponder its meaning long after they finish reading.
$200.00
Ink and water on paper (matted and framed).
15x13"
The original artwork size is 10 x 8 inches.
The Conference of the Birds (1177), is a celebrated literary masterpiece of Persian literature by the poet “Farid ud-Din Attar”, commonly known as Attar of Nishapur.
In the poem, the birds of the world gather to decide who is to be their sovereign, as they have none. The hoopoe, the wisest of them all, suggests that they should find the legendary Simorgh. The hoopoe leads the birds, each of whom represents a human fault that prevents humankind from attaining enlightenment.
$400.00
Paper collage, acrylics and oil pastels on illustration board (matted and framed).
18.50x14.50"
The original artwork size is 8.50 x 9.50 inches.
This piece is inspired by "The Dragon Charmer" by Roomi. The message of the story is your animal-soul is like a dragon. When you bring it
into the hot air of your wanting-energy, warmed
by that and by the prospect of power and wealth,
it does massive damage.
$400.00
Acrylics and oil pastels on illustration board (matted and framed).
17.50x14"
The original artwork size is 12.50 x 9 inches.
This painting is inspired by Miraj Nameh; composed between
1436 and 1437 (840 in the Islamic calendar), a book about
Muhammad’s journey to the next world.
Here in inferno people who think are being tortured and
punished. Their heads are cut and burnt.
$500.00
Paper collage, acrylics and oil pastels on illustration board (matted and framed).
29x20.50"
The original artwork size is 14 x 15.50 inches.
"Tree of Life" in Aryan ethics is a holly tree full of branches which is a metaphor of unity between all God's creatures and specifically in Persian ancient mythology is the symbol of fertility, health, dignity, and growth. There are always 2 angles guarding this holly tree which originally grows in heaven. It also implies unity between every single thing on earth. This as well explains why The Planet Earth is sacred in Persian culture.
$500.00
Acrylics and oil pastels on illustration board (matted and framed).
18x18"
The original artwork size is 13 x 13 inches.
This illustration is done for Shahnameh, "The Book of Kings", a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,000 two-line verses, the Shahnameh is the world's longest epic poem written by a single poet. It tells mainly the mythical and to some extent the historical past of the Persian Empire from the creation of the world until the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century. Modern Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and the greater region influenced by the Persian culture (such as Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, and Dagestan) celebrate this national epic.
$250.00
Acrylics and oil pastels on illustration board (matted and framed).
19x13.50"
The original artwork size is 14 x 8.50 inches.
This illustration is done for Shahnameh, "The Book of Kings", a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,000 two-line verses, the Shahnameh is the world's longest epic poem written by a single poet. It tells mainly the mythical and to some extent the historical past of the Persian Empire from the creation of the world until the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century. Modern Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and the greater region influenced by the Persian culture (such as Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, and Dagestan) celebrate this national epic.
$250.00
Acrylics and oil pastels on poster board (matted and framed).
19x13.50"
The original artwork size is 14 x 8.50 inches.
This illustration is done for Shahnameh, "The Book of Kings", a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,000 two-line verses, the Shahnameh is the world's longest epic poem written by a single poet. It tells mainly the mythical and to some extent the historical past of the Persian Empire from the creation of the world until the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century. Modern Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and the greater region influenced by the Persian culture (such as Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, and Dagestan) celebrate this national epic.
$300.00
Paper collage, acrylics and oil pastels on illustration board (matted and framed).
10.50x14.50"
The original artwork size is 5.5 x 9.5 inches.
One Thousand and One Nights is a Persian story about Shahryar; a king who is ruling in "India and China", once shocked to learn that his wife is unfaithful, so he has her killed. In his bitterness and grief, he decides that all women are the same. Shahryār begins to marry a succession of virgins only to execute each one the next morning before she has a chance to dishonor him. Eventually, the vizier, whose duty it is to provide them, cannot find any more virgins. Scheherazade (the vizier's daughter, offers herself as the next bride and her father reluctantly agrees. On the night of their marriage, Scheherazade begins to tell the king a tale but does not end it. The king, curious about how the story ends, is thus forced to postpone her execution to hear the conclusion. The next night, as soon as she finishes the tale, she begins (and only begins) a new one, and the king, eager to hear the conclusion of this tale, postpones her execution once again. This goes on for 1,001 nights.
The tales include historical tales, love stories, tragedies, comedies, poems, burlesques, and various forms of erotica. Numerous stories depict jinies, ghouls, apes, sorcerers, magicians, and legendary places, which are often intermingled with real people and geography, not always rationally.
$400.00
Acrylics and oil pastels on illustration board (matted and framed).
20.50x12.50"
The original artwork size is 15.5 x 7.5 inches.
One Thousand and One Nights is a Persian story about Shahryar; a king who is ruling in "India and China", once shocked to learn that his wife is unfaithful, so he has her killed. In his bitterness and grief, he decides that all women are the same. Shahryār begins to marry a succession of virgins only to execute each one the next morning before she has a chance to dishonor him. Eventually, the vizier, whose duty it is to provide them, cannot find any more virgins. Scheherazade (the vizier's daughter, offers herself as the next bride and her father reluctantly agrees. On the night of their marriage, Scheherazade begins to tell the king a tale but does not end it. The king, curious about how the story ends, is thus forced to postpone her execution to hear the conclusion. The next night, as soon as she finishes the tale, she begins (and only begins) a new one, and the king, eager to hear the conclusion of this tale, postpones her execution once again. This goes on for 1,001 nights.
The tales include historical tales, love stories, tragedies, comedies, poems, burlesques, and various forms of erotica. Numerous stories depict jinies, ghouls, apes, sorcerers, magicians, and legendary places, which are often intermingled with real people and geography, not always rationally.
$400.00
Acrylics and oil pastels on illustration board (matted and framed).
20x11.50"
The original artwork size is 15 x 6.5 inches.
One Thousand and One Nights is a Persian story about Shahryar; a king who is ruling in "India and China", once shocked to learn that his wife is unfaithful, so he has her killed. In his bitterness and grief, he decides that all women are the same. Shahryār begins to marry a succession of virgins only to execute each one the next morning before she has a chance to dishonor him. Eventually, the vizier, whose duty it is to provide them, cannot find any more virgins. Scheherazade (the vizier's daughter, offers herself as the next bride and her father reluctantly agrees. On the night of their marriage, Scheherazade begins to tell the king a tale but does not end it. The king, curious about how the story ends, is thus forced to postpone her execution to hear the conclusion. The next night, as soon as she finishes the tale, she begins (and only begins) a new one, and the king, eager to hear the conclusion of this tale, postpones her execution once again. This goes on for 1,001 nights.
The tales include historical tales, love stories, tragedies, comedies, poems, burlesques, and various forms of erotica. Numerous stories depict jinies, ghouls, apes, sorcerers, magicians, and legendary places, which are often intermingled with real people and geography, not always rationally.
$400.00
Acrylics and oil pastels on poster board (matted and framed).
20.50x20.50"
The original artwork size is 15.5 x 15.5 inches.
One Thousand and One Nights is a Persian story about Shahryar; a king who is ruling in "India and China", once shocked to learn that his wife is unfaithful, so he has her killed. In his bitterness and grief, he decides that all women are the same. Shahryār begins to marry a succession of virgins only to execute each one the next morning before she has a chance to dishonor him. Eventually, the vizier, whose duty it is to provide them, cannot find any more virgins. Scheherazade (the vizier's daughter, offers herself as the next bride and her father reluctantly agrees. On the night of their marriage, Scheherazade begins to tell the king a tale but does not end it. The king, curious about how the story ends, is thus forced to postpone her execution to hear the conclusion. The next night, as soon as she finishes the tale, she begins (and only begins) a new one, and the king, eager to hear the conclusion of this tale, postpones her execution once again. This goes on for 1,001 nights.
The tales include historical tales, love stories, tragedies, comedies, poems, burlesques, and various forms of erotica. Numerous stories depict jinies, ghouls, apes, sorcerers, magicians, and legendary places, which are often intermingled with real people and geography, not always rationally.