Born in Ahwaz, Iran, Sabzi started painting at the age of twelve and was encouraged in his early progression as an artist by his parents and inspiring teachers. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering at the University of Jundi Shapur. “The best part of agriculture was the purity of its primal spaces,” he says, explaining his early sensitivity to artistic concepts. Sabzi’s early works were primarily realistic, exploring the historical and cultural themes of his homeland. His departure from Iran during the Khomeini regime brought him to Germany and then the United States. This exile provided him the opportunity to explore new artistic influences, and he began to work in abstract and figurative styles. Sabzi’s subjects are almost always women, beautiful, graceful, taciturn and melancholy; they reflect love, mystery and solitude. His women are Madonnas, modern goddesses and martyred saints whose elongated forms suggest instability and internal conflict. According to Sabzi, their anonymous faces make them into religious icons that transcend and defy the demands of reality, reflecting warmth, charm, happiness, and his undisputed love and admiration for women.