Farr (Farok) Ligvani was born in Tehran, Iran in 1957. He started drawing and painting from early years, and soon showed an unusual talent and enthusiasm for art and science. He first became recognized in elementary school for a series of miniatures, sculptures and large murals that distinguished him. Ligvani would go on to win first prize in numerous local and national competitions by the time he had completed primary education. At the young age of twelve, he began designing and building boutique furniture for local dealers and hotels.

In 1976, Ligvani moved to Los Angeles, studying architecture at Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and Industrial Design at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California where he received his bachelor degree in Industrial Design. It was around this time that he began the initial sketches for what would ultimately become a major 3-part illustrative series known as "Obstacleism." While pursuing a successful career in designing, building, consulting and teaching, he broke ground on the Obstacleism series.

Ligvani founded Axis Design Group in 1993 and held the position of senior director serving a diverse group of clients including Nissan, Oakley, Swatch, Mikasa, Mattel and Fujitsu until 2007. Informed by his background in fine arts, sculpture, illustration, architecture, graphics and industrial/product design, his innovative work has won many high profile awards including the JVC Award for Conceptual Computer Hardware and Boeing/Fairchild Competition for Seating Design. In his design, Ligvani strives for simplicity. He is known for developing elegant solutions to complex problem

In 2008 he began the first of several critically acclaimed showings of the Obstacleism series. He debuted the third and final in the series, "Synthesis," in June 2012.

Ligvani's fine art incorporates training in architecture, fine art and industrial design, as well as his studies and individual explorations in philosophy and psychology. His work is inspired by Omar Khayyam, an 11th century Persian philosopher, poet and mathematician. Ligvani's art invokes a sense of wonder and a yearning for intuitive understanding from his audience, while inspiring enthusiasm for exploration and interpretation of new worlds.