Elahe Shahideh

Elli Shahideh is a broadly recognized and respected artist and educator who has lived in San Francisco for over 40 years. After cultivating a passion and talent for Fine Art in her youth, Elli has since expanded into Museum Management, Archeology, and Education. Elli has served as a teacher at SF Unified School District as well as an adjunct Professor of Fine Arts at USF for over 20 years. A lifelong scholar, Elli has gained a B.A. in Fine Arts and two Master's Degrees in Museum Studies and Education Technology. Her diverse career as an artist and educator has earned her many national accolades, including a Distinguished Achievement Award at SFSU, a National Board Certification in Art, and numerous other honors. Elli’s curatorial and painting work has been featured in publications such as The San Francisco Chronicle and the University of San Francisco News. Her art has been displayed in prestigious collections and galleries across the globe, including but not limited to: The Koret Foundation, The Heritage Trust Foundation, Post Impressionist Gallery, Kertesz Gallery, ArtSpan annual exhibitions, The Annual Junior League show, and Ning Hou Gallery. Elli uses her art to promote her strong passion for social justice, and is particularly proud of her time as an Exhibition Designer for the “Una Storia de Segreta” at Museo Italo Americano. This exhibition, inaugurated in San Francisco, received national recognition and traveled throughout the United States. She is currently working on her new still-life paintings, an initiative which she has titled: The Visual Experience The Visual Experience: Nature is my best teacher and inspiration. To create each piece, I try to channel the evocative power of flora and fauna, acknowledging that every work provides the individual with a unique, powerful visual experience. Utilizing shapes to manipulate space, playing with cool and warm colors, and allowing the light and shade to bounce against one another bring balance while maintaining a sense of vitality within the painting. These technical elements, along with texture and brush strokes, help direct the eyes. However, these are just technicalities; I am the vessel through which these scenes are communicated, but ultimately, the real artist is nature.