Assif Assefi is an abstract painter currently based in Istanbul. Born in Afghanistan in 1964, he immigrated to the US with his family in 1979 where he lived for 40 years. Assefi started painting at a very young age with the encouragement of his parents and educators. The now prolific painter seeks "to captivate the eye by transforming 'focus into blur' and 'fixed into distortion', without having a clear idea of the final result". The outcome of his work is always unpredictable, though his process deliberate. Through his work, he aims to tell a story, stopping before saying too much.

Assefi is a graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute.