About Reni Stephan

Reni Stephan is an Assyrian Iraqi American sculptor and painter based in Sterling Heights, Michigan, whose work draws deeply from Mesopotamian history, Christian faith, and family memory. With decades of practice, he has built a body of art that ranges from large-scale sculptures and murals to intimate portraits, often featuring Assyrian iconography, ancient figures, and scenes that honor the resilience of his community. His pieces have been exhibited at venues such as the Sterling Heights Community Center, the Chaldean Community Foundation, the Assyrian Cultural Foundation of Chicago, Ishtar Restaurant in Sterling Heights, and Detroit’s Carr Center, situating Assyrian visual language within broader American cultural spaces. Through works like his reimagined portrait of Queen Shamiram, Stephan plays with the dialogue between antiquity and modernity, presenting Assyrian history as a living, evolving narrative rather than a distant past. He owns and teaches at Studio Lamassu in Sterling Heights, where he mentors emerging artists, many from the Assyrian and Chaldean diasporas, in both technical skills and cultural storytelling. By carving, painting, and teaching from the heart, Stephan helps ensure that Assyrian heritage remains visible, celebrated, and creatively reinterpreted for future generations.