Leila Nazarian is an Iranian-American artist and entrepreneur currently dividing her time between Iran and the United States. She is the founder of Eclectic Decks, a contemporary art and lifestyle brand that fuses traditional art forms with a modern-day platform. Each series in the Eclectic Decks collection draws inspiration from a different culture, taking time-honored prints and patterns, and merging them with the classic wooden skateboard. She also recently launched a series called Eclectic Bags, that features the intricate craft of Persian marquetry known as Khatamkari.

For her latest series of work, Leila merges the traditional crafts of Iran, such as Khatamkari (Persian marquetry), Ayne Kari (mirror work), and Ghalamzani (metal embossing), with the signature object from LA, the skateboard, in a quest to explore her identity and cultural heritage while also discovering the long histories associated with these crafts. The final result is a harmonious and unique cross-cultural exchange that takes the viewer on a surreal journey, highlighting the possibilities of experimentation and the importance of jolting ourselves into new ways of seeing. The interplay between the traditional and the contemporary serves to regenerate attraction towards prosaic objects that are often overlooked.