Nicky nodjoumi biography
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Nicky Nodjoumi
Four decades after the Tehran exhibition that led to his exile in the USA, Nicky Nodjoumi still uses his creativity to speak up against authoritarian regimes.
Three hours of the exam had passed when the professor walked by and said “That’s no good!” Nicky Nodjoumi was seeking entry into Tehran’s University’s Bachelor of Fine Arts and had been tasked with turning the Italianate sculpture in front of him into an A3 drawing. “I was meant to fit the image from the top to the bottom of the page, but I had a small drawing in the middle – the paper had an official stamp, I couldn’t change it,” he says, recalling the anxiety. With his acceptance hanging in the balance, an exam administrator came across to him. “Turn the paper over,” he suggested, “you have one hour left.” It was a timely reminder to the young artist that a second side and fresh new start was possible, albeit with a sense of urgency.
Born in Kermanshah, Iran, in 1942, Nodjoumi admits he was a terrible student in everything other than art. The first painting he recalls making was of a rooster, and h
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Nicky Nodjoumi
Nicky Nodjoumi is an Iranian-American painter who was born in 1942 in Kermanshah, Iran. He is known for his artworks that address Iranian politics, history, power and corruption. Nodjoumi studied Fine Arts at Tehran University and moved to the United States in the late 1960s. He received his Master's degree in Fine Arts from the City College of New York in 1974.
He returned to Iran after his studies and was involved in the political revolution that opposed the Shah's regime. He was exiled from Iran in 1981 and settled in Brooklyn, New York. His paintings often depict absurd and surreal scenes that combine different elements such as mullahs, men in suits, horses and apes. He uses ambiguity and drama to comment on the socio-political events in Iran and the world. His artworks are in several prominent collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the British Museum in London, the Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi, and the National Museum of Cuba.
He has exhibited his works at various galleries and museums, s
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A Conversation with Artist Nicky Nodjoumi
Iranian artist Nicky Nodjoumi’s large scale oil and ink paintings explore dynamics of power and violence. Nodjoumi marries re-contextualized photographs from the news with everyday objects and pregnant iterations of ancient and universal images. His most recent exhibit was the inaugural show Chasing the Butterfly at the Taymour Grahne Gallery. Below, Nodjoumi reflects on form versus content and the cryptic significance of string.
—Alma Vescovi
American Reader: Your work is often described as political commentary, even though the specific kind of engagement associated with the word “commentary” (e.g. the discursive exploration associated with op-eds or documentaries) doesn’t seem applicable to images. There’s an aspect of “on the one hand, on the other hand” at which the written word excels but with which the image struggles. Would you describe your work
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