Sanam Khatibi is a Brussels-based artist, who was born in Tehran, Iran. Self-taught, Khatibi has been described as ‘guided by an untamed instinct, each work an invitation to a sexual game, tender or brutal, romantic or savage.’ As well as painting her trademark detailed canvases, she also works in tapestry, embroidery and ceramic.

Her works deal with animality, the recurrent themes that often feature questioning our relationship with excess, loss of control, bestiality, male-female dynamics, domination and submission. She is fascinated by the fine line that exists between fear and desire, and how closely they are interrelated. Her subjects inhabit alluring, exotic landscapes filled with trees and wildlife, and are often depicted within the same plane as the flora and fauna. As Khatibi explains, ‘No matter how much society tries to cover it up, no matter how polite and educated we act, our impulses remain primitive.’

Sanam Khatabi’s website is here, and her Instagram account, where she shows her most recent work, can be found here.

We would like to thank our Russian friend Yuri for suggesting the inclusion of this artist.

Similar artists

Jana Brike – Latvian contemporary painter of erotic-fairy-tale mood.
Joëlle Dubois – Belgian contemporary figurative-erotic painter and compatriot.
Leonor Fini – Italian-French surrealist painter of comparable mythological-erotic content.
Daniel Lezama – Mexican contemporary painter of allegorical-erotic content.
Nazanin Pouyandeh – Iranian-French contemporary painter from the same Iranian-diaspora generation.
Sirkku Rosi – Finnish contemporary painter of erotic-narrative scenes.