Reza Mafi is considered one of the neo-traditionalist artists and one of the pioneers of the calligraphic painting movement. His passion for art matured in him from childhood, next to an older brother who had a hand in visual arts and a father who was an engraver and goldsmith. From childhood, he started learning calligraphy from one of Mashhad's most famous calligraphers, Jalaloddin Etezadi. Working in the market and embroidery experience also impacted the formation of his artistic mentality and familiarity with decorative motifs.

Mafi was eighteen years old when he decided to go to Tehran. After three years of scattered activities in calligraphy and painting, he entered the Iranian Calligraphers Association and studied calligraphy under Hossein Mirkhani's supervision. After completing this training course, he devoted himself to calligraphy and focused on the calligraphy of Mirzarza Gholamhossein Esfahani, one of the calligraphers of the Qajar era; This experience left a profound impact on the mood of his writings. During this period, Sagha Khaneh and neo-traditionalism were new to the art community of Tehran, and Mafi was also involved in this current. He was one of the first calligraphers who tried to combine calligraphy with painting and exhibited his trial and error for the first time in the Seyhoun Gallery, which caused a stir in the art scene of that time. His skill and interest inspire his calligraphic paintings in Nastaliq calligraphy. His familiarity with Persian literature was also reflected in the poems and text selection and was one of his artwork's strengths. Inspired by the plasterwork of mosques and their connection with calligraphy, he started to create famous 3D paintings. By using materials such as Styrofoam and combining it with glazing techniques, he pushed modern calligraphy towards dimensional experiences. Although he was considered a progressive and experimental artist working with different materials, he tried to remain faithful to the traditional mood of calligraphy in aspects such as the selection of colors. He avoided using bright and unfamiliar colors and preferred brown shades. Ochre, dark green, etc., was enough. In the description of Mafi's working methods, Pakbaz writes: "In 1967, he started his work in this field with colorful black Siah Mashgh. After a while, it turned into a toghraei. In his latest artworks, he mainly used Sohrab Sepehari's compositions for the painterly use of Nastaliq and broken Nastaliq styles. In 1967, Mafi exhibited his artworks for the first time in a collective exhibition at the National Museum of Iran. He presented his paintings in numerous exhibitions in Iran and abroad, including the Islamic Art Festival in 1976 London. His artworks have been exhibited in Paris, Switzerland, and Bologna, Italy.

Reza Mafi's first appearance in auctions goes back to March 2008 at Bonhams auction house. Until February 2022, his artworks have appeared 39 times in domestic and foreign auctions, and 66% of his artworks have been sold in international auctions. His most expensive work until 2021 was hammered at Christie's auction house for $217,000 on May 11, 2017.