Kurosh Yahyai is an international artist living and working in San Diego. Having practiced art most of his life, Yahyai decided to obtain a formal education with his art where in 2012 he received his Bachelors of Arts in Studio Painting from Sacramento State University. During his time in Sacramento, Yahyai was involved in a variety of group shows showcasing his work along side of other BA candidates. After receiving his BA, Yahyai continued his formal training and is currently in his final year of graduate school, where he will receive his Masters of Fine Arts with an emphasis in painting and sculpting from San Diego State University.
During Yahyai's time at San Diego State University he has shown twice in the juried Student Award Exhibition for 2014 and 2015, and was awarded the Jurors Choice Award in 2015. Other exhibitions include the San Diego Polo Club and The One and Only Palmilla in 2013. Recently Yahyai curated an MFA graduate show at a private residence in San Diego which contained work from all disciplines of art. Yahyai has also donated and worked closely with charitable groups including Sentable and Miracle Babies.
Yahyai's work focuses on the idea of the self, where the figure is used either visually abstracted or representational. Within the representational paintings, Yahyai is using very traditional style of oil painting with a new contemporary approach. Through the figures pose, the choice of color palette, and the over all mood of the painting, Yahyai achieves a blend of old method technique in classic figurative oil painting with a modern context. Yahyai wants the viewer to get a visceral and emotional reaction from the work, rather than reading them conceptually or logically. Many of the figures gaze out to the audience in order to evoke a reaction on the viewer, where there is a sense of hesitation and unknowing.