Vahid Dastpak

I was born in Shiraz, Iran, in 1960. The same year I began my post-secondary education in engineering, I enrolled in part-time painting classes taught by the Iranian artist G.H. Saber. This started a lifelong journey on two diverging paths: pursuing my true calling as an artist, and earning a living. Despite devoting much of my free time and attention to art, I remained in engineering for many years due to practical and financial concerns. With my wife's support, I finally quit my job in October 2021 to fully focus on my art!
For years, graphite and pen and ink drawing felt the most intuitive to me. After moving to Canada, I got into printmaking in 2003, which introduced me to the local printmaking community and expanded my technical and market possibilities. In the early 2010s, I began experimenting with oil paint, which quickly turned into my favorite medium.
Visual imagination and illusions are my primary inspirations. As an obsessive daydreamer, I “see things” in the most ordinary objects and occurrences. This has been a common thread in my art since my childhood scribblings. Over the years, my approach to these "apparitions" has evolved. My prints were more stoic, while my recent paintings are more free and relaxed. Today I ca...

2005-2017 Various Printmaking courses, Malaspina Printmakers Society, Vancouver, BC
2001-2003 Intaglio courses, Dundarave Print Workshop, Vancouver, BC
1977-1983 Drawing, painting, and photography courses, Shiraz Cultural Center, Iran
1985 Bachelor of Engineering

2023 Gallery George, Vancouver, BC (curated)
2014 Reinventing the Classics, Seymour Art Gallery, North Vancouver, BC
2011 Solo print show, Dundarave Print Workshop Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2011 Open Print Show, Federation Gallery ( FCA ), Vancouver, BC
2010-2015 Annual member show, Dundarave Print Workshop Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2008 Print Parallels, Cityscape Community Art Space, North Vancouver, BC
2006 The Architecture Centre Gallery, AIBC, Vancouver, BC
2006 Landscape show, Federation Gallery (juried)
2006 New Directions in Printmaking, Burnaby Art Gallery, Burnaby, BC
2005 Small, Smaller, Smallest, Federation Gallery, Vancouver, BC (juried)
2005 Island Inks, Federation Gallery, Vancouver, BC (juried)
2004 Le Locle Prints 04, Contemporary Print Triennal, Musée des beaux arts of Le Locle, Switzerland (juried)
2004 BIMPE III, New Leaf Editions, Vancouver and Gallery San Chun, Calgary, Alberta (juried)
2004 CityScape Community Art Space , North Vancouver, BC
2003-2009 Annual member show, Malaspina Printmakers Gallery, Vancouver, BC