The life of an artist influences his work which lends expression to the lived experiences. As a painter, Hamid Sadighi Neiriz becomes impressively apparent through his work, which has emerged over several decades. The different facets of his life have developed through continents, cultures and professions: partly parallel to one another, following one another but always with the same intensity, energy, passion and perhaps restlessness. The whole being directed and supported by firm convictions. What is certain is that the arts are at the heart of his activities, while literature, music, archaeology, art history, the history of mankind as well as the collection of works of art, are the aesthetic-scientific base. 

Hamid Sadighi chose the artist name Neiriz after the Neiriz region of Iran, from whom his family finds its roots. Born in 1947 in Tehran, he spends his childhood and youth in Iran. Among his line of nomads' ancestors, his paternal grandfather bore the title of a khan (chieftain). Besides, his childhood was filled with Persian myths read by his mother such as the “Shahname”, the “Book of Kings”, by the poet Firdausī (940–1020) and by his visits to the Iranian National Museum which left him a deep impression of the archaeological and historical traditions of the country. 

At the age of 17, Neiriz embarked on a journey to Europe, aiming for West Berlin to take up art studies. Since then, Berlin has remained his home town.

Neiriz begins to study in 1966, initially architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts (now University of the Arts), but after a few semesters, he switches to art photography, which he practices continuously in the 70s. From 1972 onward he takes up multiannual studies of art history and archaeology at the Technical University (TU), art history and ethnology at the Free Universität (FU) – in connection with excursions and archaeological excavations.

During his studies, Neiriz attended several excavations in the surroundings of Alban Hills in Rome. Later, while in close contact with the Museum of Islamic Art, he oriented himself towards Islamic Studies: “After I had experienced a kind of cultural epiphany, I went [1975] to Iran to study archaeology, and to dedicate myself to Persian literature and philosophy". 

From summer 1976 to winter 1977 Neiriz attended the lectures of Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr on the philosophy of Suhrawardi­ at the University of Tehran and of Professor Abdolhossein ­Zarrinkoub on the Masnavi of Rumi. During that period, he focused on Archaeology with Professor Ezzatollah Negahban, followed by various excavation expeditions in 1977 under Negahban’s direction in the east of Sefid Rud.

After a year Neiriz returned to Berlin but soon got back to Isfahan, to research his doctoral thesis at the Madrasah Chahar Bagh under the supervision of Professor Honarfar.

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During a break in one of the traditional tea rooms he discovered by accident or fortune an antique nomadic kilim, which brought up associations with compositions of classical modern paintings, and he set out to search for similar pieces: “This discovery was incredibly exciting for me, and when I look back, it has changed my life". The excitement was rooted in the understanding of the artistic value of nomadic weaving, which so far had hardly been perceived.

Neiriz started a collection, explored origins, travelled to the nomads and their khans. 

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