Joseph Badalpour: Stained Glass Artist

When people visit the Assyrian Cultural Foundation’s Ashurbanipal Library, they always admire the gorgeous stained glass window near the back entrance.

Who is the artist behind this beautiful piece of artwork?

It is none other than the Assyrian Cultural Foundation’s Fine Arts Director, Joseph Badalpour. Joseph Badalpour is one of the few people who creates stained glass for a living, and is probably the only Assyrian to do so. After graduating from the American Academy of Art with a Fine Arts degree, in which he specialized in painting, he established his own stained glass studio, called Circle Studio, Inc., in 1975.

Mr. Badalpour’s clients include churches, synagogues, private homeowners, and businesses. In addition to creating stained glass, Joseph Badalpour and his team also restore antique glass, bevel glass (cut out designs in glass), and even design lamps.

Known as one of the few stained glass artists in the Chicago area, Mr. Badalpour has been featured in many newspapers and television interviews. To learn more, visit Circle Studio, Inc.’s website.

Watch ACF’s 2018 interview with Joseph Badalpour (in Assyrian).

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZCwMgk-Gss
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eYgxkkN57k

The reason why Mr. Badalpour began ACF’s Fine Arts program was to help encourage other Assyrians to take their artistic passions and talents to a higher level. That is also why he has created the ACF Fine Arts Competition, in order to discover and promote new Assyrian talent. Hopefully, his work will inspire a new generation of Assyrian artists.