Somaya Etemad is an Iranian-American architect, luxury pool designer and builder, and fine artist whose work has been exhibited nationally and internationally — including at the Japan Contemporary Museum of Art. Trained at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), she blends engineering precision with a deep artistic sensibility.

Her multidisciplinary practice draws on her experience as a woman, mother, and designer, weaving personal narratives into architectural spaces, sculptural forms, and works on paper. Known for creating whimsical, imagined places and capturing the quiet struggles and joys of life, Somaya uses her signature fine lines to tell stories that are both intimate and expansive.

She lives and works in Los Angeles, where she continues to explore the intersection of structure, emotion, and beauty across disciplines.

EXHIBITING HISTORY

2025

  • Solo Painting Exhibition, TAG Gallery, SOLO (a life rebuilt alone), Los Angeles, CA, USA

  • Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, THE 24th JAPAN INTERNATIONAL ART EXCHANGE EXHIBITION, Tokyo, Japan

  • Group Exhibition, TAG Gallery, Shades of Gray, Los Angeles, CA, USA

  • Group Exhibition, TAG Gallery, “Abstract Exhibition”, Los Angeles, CA, USA

2024

  • Group Exhibition, Covet Art Gallery, “Mania”, Oceanside, CA, USA 

  • Group Exhibition, ShockBoxx Gallery, “Not! An Art Fair”, Hermosa Beach, CA, USA   

  • Group Exhibition, TAG Gallery, “2024 Made in the USA”, Los Angeles, CA, USA

  • Group Exhibition, The Bridge Arts Foundation, “Soliloquy”, San Gabriel, CA, USA

  • Group Exhibition, ShockBoxx Gallery, “Mixtape”, Hermosa Beach, CA, USA      

  • Group Exhibition, Women's Caucus for Art (ACCESS), “An Ordinary Notion”, San Francisco, CA, USA     

  • Group Exhibition, Boomer Gallery, "The Dark Side”, London, UK

  • Art Fair Exhibit, Superfine, New York, NY, USA