Sirak Melkonian Explained

Sirak Melkonian
Native Name:سیراک ملکنیان
Native Name Lang:fa
Other Names:Սիրակ Մելքոնյան
Birth Date:15 October 1930
Birth Place:Tehran, Iran
Death Date:17 August 2024
Death Place:Toronto, Canada
Citizenship:Iranian, Canadian
Occupation:Painter
Style:Abstract Art
Awards:Royal Prize of the Tehran Biennial, 1958
Website:http://WWW.SIRAKMELKONIAN.COM

Sirak Melkonian (15 October 1930 – 17 August 2024; Persian: سیراک ملکنیان, Armenian: Սիրակ Մելքոնյան) was an Iranian-Armenian painter and one of the pioneers of modern art in Iran.

Biography

Melkonian was born in October 15, 1930 in Tehran. Due to his father's occupation, the family moved to Arak and later returned to Tehran again. At the age of 12, with his father's support, Melkonian began learning oil painting under the tutelage of an Assyrian painter named Alex Gevargiz.[1]

During his teenage years, during high school years, Melkonian became a member of the Progressive Armenian Cultural Association, where he pursued painting seriously for over a decade alongside other Armenian artists. He met Marcos Grigorian, through whom he was introduced to modern European and Western art.[2] Melkonian's early works exhibited a figurative and expressionist approach. In 1957, he won the Contemporary Iranian Artists Award from the Iran-America Society, and in 1958, he received the Royal Prize at the Tehran Biennial.[2] Encouraged by Grigorian, he traveled to Italy to further his education at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma. However, he left his formal studies incomplete and continued his artistic journey through self-directed learning. He participated in the Venice Biennale,[3] and shortly thereafter, his works were exhibited at the Paris Biennale.[4] [5]

Over the years, Melkonian participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions both in Iran and internationally. In the years before the Iranian Revolution, during the 1970s, he won first place at the Tehran International Art Exhibition. His works were showcased in the third edition of the Tehran Azad Group exhibition in 1975, at the WashArt 77 Art Fair, and the FIAC 77 Art Fair.[6] [7]

From 1972 to 1975, Melkonian, in addition to his professional activities as a painter and artist, also privately taught painting in Tehran. In 1981, he emigrated to Greece and about a year later moved to Canada, where he continued to live and work in Toronto.[8] [9]

Sirak Melkonian passed away on Saturday, 17 August 2024, at the age of 93 in Toronto.[10] [11]

Style

Melkonian was one of the pioneers of figurative art in the 1950s (1330s in the Iranian calendar). Alongside a group of artists centered around Marcos Grigorian, he played a key role in shifting figurative painting in Iran—originally influenced by Impressionism—towards Expressionism. This group sought not only to transform the form and structure of painting but also to move beyond a romantic engagement with tradition and its mere depiction. Their critical and inquisitive perspective aimed at discovering their cultural roots within the surrounding society while confronting the modern world.[2] [5]

Melkonian exhibited some of his most important works from this period of artistic and intellectual development at the Tehran Biennial in 1958 (1337 in the Iranian calendar). Alongside his paintings, he also exhibited his engravings, earning the Royal Prize at the Biennial. Following this success, Melkonian was selected as one of Iran's representatives at the Venice and Paris Biennials.[4] [2]

In the early 1960s, Melkonian began a new phase in his artistic career by gravitating towards abstract art. With his abstract works, he became a representative of another significant movement in the history of Iranian Modern art.[5]

In his abstract works, Melkonian was less concerned with color or the representation of nature and more focused on a deep and continuous exploration of nature itself. By using warm, harmonious colors, he revealed his keen attention to composition and the juxtaposition of geometric shapes derived from nature, along with the impactful element of line.

Except for a brief period in his youth, Melkonian seldom revisited human figuration. He was deeply fascinated by nature, but not in the familiar sense depicted by other modern artists of his generation. The nature represented in his works carries a more mystical and intuitive reflection of the earth, of its elements, and other transcendent concepts that guide the viewer towards an unknown and sacred realm. Although these works may initially evoke the textures of hills or the veins of stone, they continue to evolve in the pursuit of form and geometry. Melkonian's works are characterized by a robust, confident, and assured structure.[5]

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

Melkonian has had solo exhibitions in amongst other:[12]

Group shows

Melkonian has been part of exhibitions, amongst other:

Works in collections

External links

Personal Website: http://WWW.SIRAKMELKONIAN.COM

Resources

www.sirakmelkonian.com

References

  1. Web site: سیراک ملکنیان درز . 2024-08-25 . darz.art.
  2. Book: Rafiee, Tarlan . Tarlan Rafiee . Iran Print: Vol.1 . Samimi Mofakham . Yashar . Yashar Samimi Mofakham . Meem Editions . 2019 . UAE . en.
  3. https://artasiapacific.com/news/sirak-melkonian-1931-2024
  4. Web site: INHA : Portail de recherche dans les archives . 2024-08-25 . bdp.inha.fr.
  5. "Prominent Figures Introduced in the Exhibition of Armenian Artists in Iran," Peyman Cultural Quarterly, Issue 64, 17th Year, Summer 2013 (1392).
  6. Book: Barahani, Reza . Sirak Melkonian: Monograph . Aria Pub. . 2004 . Iran . fa, en.
  7. "Encyclopedia of Iranian Armenians," Author: Janet D. Lazarian, Hirmand Publishing, 2nd Edition, 2009 (1388). .
  8. Web site: Melkonian . Sirak . Sirak Melkonian, History of Armenian-Iranians . Hayazd.
  9. Web site: زحمتکش . فضه . 2021-01-03 . سیراک ملکنیان (1309/ تهران) نقاش و چاپگر معاصر ایرانی است.. . 2024-08-26 . پشت‌بام . fa-IR.
  10. Web site: 2024-08-20 . سیراک ملکنیان نقاش نوگرای ایرانی درگذشت . 2024-08-26 . IRNA . fa.
  11. Web site: 2024-08-21 . Iran art community loses two artists . 2024-08-26 . Tehran Times . en.
  12. Web site: Sirak Melkonian Darz . 2024-08-26 . darz.art.
  13. Iran Print: Vol.1; Curated by Tarlan Rafiee and Yashar Samimi Mofakham, Meem Gallery, 2019
  14. Epic Iran, Victoria & Albert Museum, Curated by John Curtis, Ina Sarikhani Sandmann, and Tim Stanley; May 2021 to September 2021
  15. Web site: بازدید سیراک ملکنیان نقاش برجسته کشور از موزه بانک سپه و امضای تابلوی خود – اخبار بانک . 2024-08-26 . www.namayebank.ir . en.
  16. Web site: Untitled LACMA Collections . 2024-08-26 . collections.lacma.org.

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