Nicky Nodjoumi Explained

Nicky Nodjoumi
Native Name:نیکزاد نجومی
Native Name Lang:fa
Birth Name:Nikzad Nodjoumi
Birth Place:Kermanshah, Imperial State of Iran
Education:Tehran University
The New School
City College of New York
Spouse:Nahid Hagigat (divorced)
Relatives:Till Schauder (son in-law)

Nikzad Nodjoumi, more commonly known as Nicky Nodjoumi (born 1942), is an Iranian-born American fine art painter, printmaker and illustrator. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. His paintings address Iranian politics, history, power and corruption.[1]

Early life

Nikzad Nodjoumi was born in 1942 in Kermanshah, Iran.[2] In 1961, he studied Fine Arts at the School of Fine Art at Tehran University and in 1969 studied English at The New School in New York.[3] In 1969, he came to the United States initially to have surgery in the Bronx for a congenital heart defect.

He married artist, Nahid Hagigat in 1973.[4] In 1974, he received his Master's degree in Fine Arts from the City College of New York.

Career

He returned to Iran after his studies and was making artwork and posters that criticized the Shah's regime. During the Iranian Revolution he was exiled from Iran and by 1981 he had moved back to New York City.[5]

His 2013 paintings from his show "Nicky Nodjoumi: Chasing the Butterfly and Other Recent Paintings" have an absurd mockery about them. With objects such as mullahs, men in suits, horses and apes sharing canvas space with figures from classical Persian paintings.[6]

Nodjoumi's artwork has exhibited at various galleries and museums and are in collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; the British Museum in London;[7] the DePaul Art Museum in Chicago; and the National Museum of Cuba.[8]

He is the subject of the documentary “A Revolution on Canvas" (2023) directed by Till Schauder and his daughter Sara Nodjoumi.[9] [10] [11]

Notes and References

  1. News: Politics on canvas: Nicky Nodjoumi and the New York enclave. Dabashi. Hamid. 24 October 2013. Al Jazeera. 20 March 2015.
  2. Diba. Layla S.. Layla S. Diba. 2016-12-01. History, Identity, Memory: Nikzad Nodjoumi's Arzhang. Asiatische Studien - Études Asiatiques. en. 70. 4. 1051–1069. 10.1515/asia-2016-0040. 21738531 . 2235-5871.
  3. News: Iranian Artist Nicky Nodjoumi Talks Revolutions, Secret Police And The Vietnam War. Brooks. Katherine. 4 September 2013. The Huffington Post. 20 March 2015.
  4. Web site: Nicky Nodjoumi with Phong Bui. 5 November 2010. 22 March 2015. The Brooklyn Rail. Bui. Phong.
  5. Web site: Nicky Nodjoumi: Ghosts From Iran's Past. 30 September 2013. 21 March 2015. Hyperallergic Magazine. Hyperallergic Media, Inc. Pearlman. Ellen.
  6. News: Nicky Nodjoumi: 'Chasing the Butterfly and Other Recent Paintings'. Cotter. Holland. 17 October 2013. The New York Times. 21 March 2015.
  7. Web site: Collections Online, Nicky Nodjoumi. 2021-04-22. British Museum.
  8. Web site: 2016-07-24. The big picture: Iranian-American painter Nicky Nodjoumi. 2021-04-22. ArtRadarJournal.com. en-US.
  9. Web site: A Revolution on Canvas (Untitled Nicky Nodjoumi) . 2023-12-11 . 2023 Tribeca Festival.
  10. Web site: Tallerico . Brian . A Revolution on Canvas movie review (2023) . 2023-12-11 . RogerEbert.com . en.
  11. Web site: 2023-12-08 . An HBO Original " A Revolution on Canvas " now playing in NYC . 2023-12-11 . Ouch! Magazine . en.